


Years and years

by Fangirlgem



Category: Batman (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), The Flash (Comics)
Genre: (g slur), Bisexual Dick Grayson, Coming Out, Friends to Lovers, Homophobic Language, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Pining, Racist Language, Slow Burn, Temporarily Unrequited Love, gay wally west
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2019-07-04 03:54:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 45,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15833241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangirlgem/pseuds/Fangirlgem
Summary: Dick Grayson knows for a fact that he likes boys, most prominently his 'straight' best friend, Wally West. Wally also knows he likes other guys, but due to growing up in a homophobic household, he tries to forget that he does.Set over the course of a few years, the evolution of their relationship.





	1. Cheerleader

Dick walks along the mostly empty school corridor. There's not many other students around, as school finished early and most people have already left. Up until about two minutes ago, Dick had been poking around in the library, looking for something to read over the weekend. It's almost the normal school finish time now.

He's not wearing his fancy blazer with the Gotham Academy crest or the rest of his uniform. It's a rare no uniform day, meaning most people came into school wearing designer clothing. Hoodies with large brand names and logos on the front of them, like Hollister, Pull & Bear and Abercrombie & Finch. Adidas and Nike shoes that look crisp and brand new.

Dick would have worn a hoodie and jeans too, if it weren't for Alfred insisting he wear a red jumper and light blue shirt over some trousers to school. The old butler said that ' _just because it's a no uniform day, doesn't mean you shouldn't look presentable. It's a school environment after all_.' He looks like a kid straight out of the 1950s with his neat, combed back hair, which is actually pretty fitting, considering his name, but isn't very cool. He did however, get away with wearing a pair of red converse.

Dick walks past the notice board, but stops and goes back a few steps. A yellow sheet tacked onto the middle of the cork board catches his eye. On the top of the sheet in bold Comic Sans it reads :  **Cheerleader tryouts on Monday, all welcome.**

Dick frowns at first at the ugly font, then considers the actual idea of trying out as a cheerleader. It said all welcome and he'd definitely have the skills involved. Heck, he'd probably be better than most of the current senior cheerleaders. Sure he's a freshman, scrawny and kind of short, but he's strong and flexible.

An extracurricular activity might help him make some more friends. At the moment in school he just has Barbara, which is fine, but she's a sophomore and while she's too nice to say it, she's probably not thrilled about Dick hanging around with her and her normal friends all the time.

Dick wishes some of his fellow teen titans went to the same school as him, but they all attend public schools in different cities (or underwater, but that's just Garth).

There's a lot of names on the list already, all girls so far. Some he recognises from a few of his classes. He takes the pen attached to a string hanging from the notice board and signs,  _Richard Grayson_.

He hears someone approaching behind him. All of Bruce's training makes him very aware of his surroundings. The only other people around are the people who had detention. He turns his head just as a boy in his history class, Simon Cosgrove, rests his forearm on Dick's shoulder and greets him mockingly.

"Whatcha doing there, Dickhead?"

Ugh. Dick had hoped people would get over mocking his name after he left middle school, but no. High schoolers he's discovered, even rich kids, are still immature and annoying. He could just avoid all of this and just go by Richard all the time, but it feels unnatural to him and very formal. A lot of the teachers call him Richard rather than Dick and it's weird.

"I'm just-" Dick says, about to explain himself and letting the pen hang loose again. He's interrupted.

"Signing up for cheerleader tryouts? Don't you know that's just for girls?" Frank, the other boy who's with him says, bending his knees to speak to Dick. An obvious mockery of Dick's height, "Or are you gay?" Frank says, almost spitting out the word, like it leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

"No," Dick says defensively. It's not exactly a lie. He likes girls, really, he does. The problem is, he's recently realised that he likes guys too. A certain guy that he's friends with. Which is of course a massive problem in his eyes.

"Don't you know, Frank? Grayson here is the little gypsy circus freak that Bruce Wayne picked up a couple years ago. Although he's probably gay too. Who knows what goes on in Wayne manor..."

Dick curls his hand into a fist. It takes so much willpower to not flip this guy over his shoulder that he could become a green lantern.

Being in his history class, Simon remembers the project Dick did about life in Europe during the Second World War. Dick had chosen to focus his project on the plight of the Roma population, who as many person are unaware, were also placed in concentration camps by Nazis. Got an A on it.

He had mentioned during his presentation that he had Roma heritage and since then he's heard whispers referring to him as a gypsy. Dick doesn't even look very Roma. He's only one quarter Roma, yet people are latching onto it as a teasing point. There's not a lot of visible minorities in his school anyway so that's probably why.

The thing about him and Bruce? Those rumours have been going around ever since Bruce took him in. He was too young to notice it before, but now he knows that some people whisper that behind the billionaire playboy facade, Bruce Wayne is a gay pedophile and in a relationship with his ward. It's wildly far from the truth and pretty disturbing.

"A gay, gypsy circus freak!" Frank scoffs, "It's insane that you were accepted into Gotham Academy! You don't belong here Dickhead, even if you have got the richest man in Gotham as a sugar daddy."

"His parents are dead too. Hated him so much they jumped off a tight wire or something," Simon adds with a sneer.

Dick's blood boils at that comment, but he knows he can't do anything. Revealing his fighting skill would reveal him as Robin, right? After all, what other small, dark haired teenage boy in Gotham can fight as well as the teen wonder?

"Seeya, freak!"

Simon shoves him against the notice board, hard, then jogs away down the hallway with Frank in tow, laughing. Several sheets fall off of the cork board and flutter to the floor. A pin just barely misses his eye and leaves a red mark on his cheekbone.

It's definitely not the worst shove he's ever gotten from someone. The criminals of Gotham are pretty mean. It's the emotional side of it that's done the real damage. Sure, he got teased in middle school too, but it was never very deep. In middle school, they didn't make fun of his heritage or gossip about him and Bruce because they were busy making fun of his name, which eventually got old. This hurts a good bit more.

He blinks back the tears in his eyes as he reaches down to pick up the sheets of paper. There's a massive lump in his throat. The last one he reaches for is the yellow cheer squad sign up sheet. It's a little crinkled now.

"S'up."

Dick jumps, whipping his head around (and up a bit) to see a face full of freckles looking at him with a big grin. Wally had almost appeared out of nowhere. That's gonna look weird on the security cameras. Dick is more than just surprised, face flushing red. He hopes Wally can't see the tears that he has been blinking back.

"Hey Wally. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in - oh wait," Dick splutters, quickly lowering his hand and holding the sheet at his side.

"No school today for me, we've got a long weekend this week. Teachers were on strike or something. What happened to your face? Looks pretty fresh."

Dick touches his face with his free hand, "Oh, nothing. Some jerk just shoved me against the notice board, no biggie."

"Why'd he do that?"

Dick gives him an 'are you serious?' look.

"Well yeah, I guess you are kinda small," Wally says, putting his hand out flat and raising it above Dick's head. Wally is quite a bit taller than him and still growing. There's no doubt that he'll at least reach six foot by the time he's done.

"There's a few other reasons, but mostly because of this," Dick says, sheepishly holding up the sheet to show his best friend.

"Ew, Comic Sans. Cheerleading? You'd be fantastic at that."

"I know, right? But snobby Simon and his buddy Frank think it's...gay," Dick tells him, saying the last word quietly, even though the hallway is empty aside from them.

"Not that I usually pay attention in history, because I don't, but our teacher told us yesterday that three former presidents were cheerleaders in high school. Of course, we haven't had any female presidents yet, much to Donna's annoyance. Cheerleading was once considered a dude thing."

"Really?" Dick asks. This was news to him.

"Yup. And hey, I bet it's a great way to pick up chicks. Well..maybe once you grow a few more inches."

Dick rolls his eyes, "Ha ha."

"I'm dead serious. Those cheerleaders will practically fall all over you once they see the sick flips and stuff you can do. Watch out, Grayson has game!"

Dick laughs, mood instantly lifted by Wally's stupid jokes.

He always knows what to say to get him to laugh. It's one of the reasons Dick has a stupid crush on the speeder.

Dick pins the sign up sheet on the board, "Wanna go get slushies? I can call Alfred and get him to take us into the city instead of bringing me home."

"Or you could just call him off altogether and I could give you a piggyback ride. It's faster and more fun. I'm definitely down for slushies. And food too, obviously," Wally suggests.

"Sure. We can pop into the Wayne E. building. Bruce will give us money for food. A hundred bucks knowing him. He has absolutely no concept of money."

"God, I wish Barry and Iris were like that. Most I get going out is fifteen dollars."

"Well, having a butler is the reason I'm wearing this on a no-uniform day," Dick says, gesturing to his red Ralph Lauren jumper.

"Oh, I just thought that was the typical rich kid look at  _Gotham Academy._ "

"Shuddup," Dick says, nudging the older boy.

"C'mon,  _Rich_ ard _._  Hop on," Wally says and Dick jumps onto his back, well used to traveling by speedster. He barely has time to adjust his school satchel before Wally takes off down the corridor and out of the school at super speed. Dick tucks his head into Wally's shoulder and enjoys the few seconds of close contact as Wally runs into the centre of Gotham city.

Wally skids to a halt about a block away from the massive Wayne Enterprises tower. Dick lingers for a moment, and Wally tells him, "Uh, dude? You can get off now."

"Right," Dick says awkwardly, sliding off. He attempts to fix his once neat hair as they start walking towards the building. Wally makes no such effort to tame his. It looks like flames sticking up on his head.

"So can you just...walk in?"

Dick fishes around in his satchel and pulls out a small laminated card, "I've got a security card. Not that I really need it, everyone knows me."

"That's so cool," Wally says, "Have you got a credit card too?"

"Not yet, no. I just borrow B's from time to time. He says I can get one for my 16th birthday."

"You gonna get a car too?"

"Nah. I've already got my bike."

"Ah, your bike. The bright red one with the yellow R."

"Shh. At least I can drive. You're already sixteen and you can't."

"Why would I want to? I can run faster than any car," Wally says with a shrug.

They approach the front entrance of the building, where two security guards are standing outside. They let Dick past but one puts a hand out to Wally's chest to stop him.

"It's okay, Russell, he's my friend. We're just calling into see Bruce."

The big beefy guy, Russell, nods and lets Wally past. He looks relieved and follows Dick through the revolving doors into a classy lobby that's all dark tones and practically screams masculinity. There's speakers hidden somewhere playing swanky music. Dick uses his security card to get himself and Wally through the security gates, similar to the ones at train stations but more high tech. After that, Dick strolls right up to the front desk and greets the receptionist, "Hey Lucy."

The blonde lady looks up at him and smiles. She speaks in an English accent and sounds like a reporter for the BBC, "Oh hello love. Are you looking for Mr Wayne?"

"Yeah. Is he around? Or has he pulled one of his disappearing acts?" Dick jokes, making Lucy laugh.

"He's in a board meeting. You know the floor. I'll let him know you're here," Lucy says, "I don't suppose you have any idea where he disappears to all the time?"

Dick shrugs, "Oh you know him, probably off chasing some unfortunate woman. Your neck scarf is very nice by the way. See you later."

"Thank you, Dick. See you later," she says. Dick nods and starts walking towards one of the glass-door lifts. Wally once again follows after him and presses the button to call the lift. After a few seconds of waiting the doors slide open and a man in a suit steps out, carrying a briefcase. He nods his head at Dick, clearly recognising him, but gives Wally a weird look before walking away.

Dick and Wally step into the lift and Dick sticks his card into a slot by the buttons so he can operate them. Wally is honestly surprised there isn't a lift operator in there to do that. Dick presses the button for the fifteenth floor and the doors slide closed. The lift starts moving upwards.

There was a time when they'd both jump as the lift went up or Wally would stand on one leg while Dick would do a handstand, but they're teenagers now and everyone can see them as they pass through each floor. The novelty wears off.

"Dude, that was smooth. The receptionist is hot," Wally comments.

"She's pretty, yeah," Dick says. He internally sighs. It's like Wally is attracted to every woman he sees. Maybe he's overcompensating for something? No. Definitely not. If Wally was into guys he'd know because Wally would tell him. Although, it's not like Dick has told Wally about his sexuality...

_God_ , Dick thinks,  _It would be so much easier if one of us were a girl. We'd probably already be going out. Why couldn't I just have a crush on Donna instead? Or Barbara? Well, maybe I like Babs a little bit too...ughh_

The lift stops and opens up at the fifteenth floor. Surprisingly, their journey was uninterrupted and nobody else got in. Dick takes back his card and they step out of the lift. Only a few seconds after, they meet Lucius Fox, who is the  _real_ head of Wayne Enterprises. Bruce is the CEO, but he's basically just the face of the business. Lucius runs everything.

"Hey Lucius," Dick says with his signature smile, "Got any cool toys to show us while we wait for Bruce?"

Lucius raises an eyebrow, "Not today. Come back on your own next week maybe. You know it's top secret."

"It's cool, Lucius, Wally's not exactly your average teen either," Dick says, but Lucius looks unconvinced at the ginger boy in the green hoodie and blue jeans.

"Next week. I'll show you and Bruce some things I'm developing. Why don't you go wait for him in his office? He'll be going up there after the meeting."

"Aww. Okay. Bye."

Lucius walks away again to carry on with whatever he was doing before the two teenagers interrupted him and Wally says, "Back in the elevator I take it?"

"Yup."

Soon, they're entering Bruce's office on the top floor. More dark tones and masculine vibes like the lobby. Dick strolls over to the desk and sits in the big chair behind it, which only makes him seem smaller.

"If only you had a cat in your lap to dramatically stroke as you spin around and say  _I've been expecting you,_ " Wally says.

Dick picks up a photo frame on the desk and his nose scrunches up, "Aw man, he still has this here."

Wally zips around the desk to look, "Ha, look at your baby face! Oh wait...nothing has changed since that photo was taken."

Dick exhales sharply and says, "Your mind is more babyish than my face. We should just switch bodies."

"If you wanna be called carrot top, and kicked a by a load of jerks at school one day a year go ahead. Donna reckons that once you actually grow you're going to be a knockout so I'll happily switch after you get your growth spurt."

Wally had mentioned the horror of kick a ginger day before but Dick didn't realise he was being serious about it. There's kiss a ginger day too, which Dick much prefers the sound of.

"Donna said that? Wow. And those guys are jerks. I really like your hair," Dick says. Wally gives him a weird look, so he adds, "It..reminds me of Batgirl's hair."

"You got the the hots for Batgirl huh?"

"Eh...maybe," Dick shrugs. _I like you more you dumbass._ "Batgirl is pretty cool."

"Well, once you eventually get taller than her and glow up like Donna says you will, maybe she'll give you a chance," Wally says.

"What makes Donna think I'm gonna get hot?"

"I dunno. Girl instinct? She said something about the picture of your parents and how they were both good looking so it's inevitable you'll be," Wally shrugs, eyes glancing out the massive window overlooking the city.

"Oh." Dick says. It boosts his self esteem, that's for sure.  _Come on, growth spurt. Where are you?_

A minute later, Bruce walks in, with some beautiful woman in tow. She seems like she's just trying to get his attention for reasons other than business, but once Bruce sees the two boys he says, "Excuse me, Miss Doyle. I'd love to talk more about trade with your sister's company, but as you can see, my young ward and his friend are in my office and I should attend to them."

"I see. Catch you later, Mr. Wayne," she says in a flirty manner, letting go of his arm and walking out, her heels clicking on the polished floor. Bruce smiles at her as she walks away, then closes the door. He turns around and gives the two boys the most done, dead inside look.

Dick snickers, "She seemed friendly."

"Hello, Dick. Wally," Bruce says, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Dick says.

"Then why have you brought Wally into W.E?" Bruce asks. Wally smiles awkwardly.

"We're going to go get food but haven't got any money with us," Dick explains.

"You could have just called," Bruce says, walking over to his desk, "Off my chair."

"Aw. Coming up here was more fun than just calling," Dick says, jumping out of the fancy black leather chair.

Bruce sits down and puts a PIN number into a keypad under the desk, then opens the top drawer. He pulls out his wallet and opens it. There's a picture of nine year old Dick in there, which Dick cringes at. Bruce is an emotionally stunted and kind of scary guy, but at the end of the day he's basically just like any other dad. Wally clearly notices the picture too and smirks.

Bruce takes out a fifty dollars and passes it to Dick, "Is that enough? Wally eats a lot."

"Oh yeah, that's fine," Dick says, taking the bill with a picture of Ulysses S. Grant. It takes a lot of willpower for him and Wally to not grin like idiots. At one point, Dick remembers, Hal Jordan actually gave Wally some of his green lantern powers.

"Hey, just curious, but to do you even have any one dollar bills in there?" Wally asks.

Bruce looks into his wallet, then says, "No. What would a single dollar get me?"

"Oh yeah. Good point," Wally says.

They both thank Bruce. Dick promises to be back home for dinner and to not tell Alfred that he's going out to eat fast food. They manage to contain their laughter until they get into the lift.

"Oh my god! I can't believe how clueless he is!" Wally howls, keeled over.

"I know right! What would a single dollar get you? Bruce probably doesn't even believe in dollar stores!" Dick shrieks with laughter. He's practically cackling. Scratch that, he is actually cackling.

"What's he thinking, giving two teenagers fifty bucks right off the bat?"

"...bat." Dick repeats, then wheezes. They can barely stand up in the lift because they're laughing so hard.

"The look on his face when the girl left! I almost  _died_  right on the spot!" Wally says, voice cracking due to both puberty and lack of oxygen.

Someone stops the lift and the doors open. They take one look at the two boys and just decide to wait for another lift.

Dick and Wally step back out onto the streets of Gotham, having finally pulled themselves together.

"Let's go get sushies. Then maybe we can hit up the arcade," Wally says.

"Arcade requires change. We've got no coins."

"Well you know what that means," Wally says mischievously. Dick smirks.

"We blow all the money to get change."

"Exactly," Wally nods. They then sprint off down the block. Wally runs like a normal person, but still goes faster than Dick on purpose.

Ten minutes later they're sitting in a booth at a busy pizza place, drinking slushies and scoffing pizza and fries. It's a popular hangout spot, even for the snobby kids who go to Gotham Academy. Dick silently hopes nobody from his school is actually around, but it's a Friday, so he'll be lucky if they aren't.

"This pizza. Is so good. Not Keystone level good, but it's still pretty high up there," Wally comments, then shoves another bite into his mouth.

Wally doesn't eat with much grace, but Dick is well used to it. It's kind of endearing how little fucks he gives about what people think of him while he eats. Gosh, Dick is such a sap. However, unlike Wally he's a much more graceful eater. It likely comes from Alfred and Bruce's influence. Bruce eats burgers with a fork and knife for goodness' sake. Although, now he thinks of it, as Batman he eats burgers like a regular person.

"Houston to Dick Grayson, is there a problem?" Wally says as he waves his hand in front of Dick's face, "You're looking at me weird. Is there something in my teeth?"

"What? Oh no. Your teeth are fine."

"Okay, phew, because there's some hot girls coming in that look like they're in my grade," Wally says, causing Dick to glance quickly over his shoulder towards the door.

_Oh no,_ Dick thinks. It's Babs and her friend, Beatrice. Also known as Bea. Dick sees Bea at Bruce's fancy parties as well as school. They've come to the pizzeria without even mentioning it to him. But whatever. She and Bea are just two friends hanging out. Just like him and Wally.

"Wally. I know them."

"You do? Care to introduce me?" Wally says with a grin. Dick leans across the table and whispers. 

"Well for one, the girl with the red hair is Batgirl. Barbara Gordon. The police commissioner's daughter."

"Woah, really? You're right, she is good looking," Wally says. Dick rolls his eyes at him, "Did she tell you they were coming here? You're friends, right?"

"No. She didn't tell me. But whatever. I get it. It's not cool to be seen with freshman."

"You're cool. For a freshman," Wally tells him.

"You don't go to my school," Dick says with a sigh. Barbara spots him. His clothing is probably a dead giveaway, really. She approaches with her friends.

"Oh, hey Dick. Thought you were going home after school," She greets with a smile.

Dick shrugs, "Change of plans. Babs, this is -"

"Wally. I know. Dick talks a lot about you. A lot," Barbara says, glancing down at Dick. Dick's face flushes red, "Hard to believe I haven't met him before. Can we join you guys? There's no other booths."

"Sure. It's pretty packed today," Dick says, scooting over. Babs slides in next to him and Bea sits in next to Wally, albeit a little reluctantly. Wally is grinning like an idiot. Dick wants to roll his eyes all the way back into his head. He can only tolerate so much heterosexuality.

"Wally, Bea. Bea, Wally," Dick introduces. He feels awful, but really hopes Beatrice isn't into ginger guys.

"Nice to meet you," Wally says.

"..Likewise. I don't think I've seen you around before. Do you go to Gotham High or something?"

"Wally goes to school in Central City," Dick explains, twirling the straw in his slushie cup, "He's a sophomore."

"Jeez, Dick. Aren't you friends with anyone your own age?" Barbara asks. A year isn't that much of a difference. It's not like he's a 7th grader. His friends don't see him as a kid, right?

Dick shrugs, "Eh. I'm too cool for the other freshman Babs, you know that." He sips up the blue slush.

A waitress comes along and takes Barbara and Bea's orders. When the waitress leaves, Babs puts her fingertips up to touch Dick's cheekbone.

"What happened to your face? You didn't have that a few hours ago. Did you two run into any trouble?"

Dick pauses for a moment, debating on whether or not he should tell the truth, considering Bea is there. She's a nice girl but who knows. She could tell other people that Dick doesn't fight back against bullies. He could just save it and tell Barbara about what happened tonight on patrol. However, she'll keep asking if he doesn't.

"Some jerk shoved me against the notice board. Pin caught my face. That's all."

"Who? Name drop away."

Dick bites his lip in hesitation, then says, "Simon Cosgrove. Another Freshman. He and his buddy Frank were teasing me about my name. No biggie."

Barbara gives him a skeptical look but leaves it for now. She's definitely going to ask him about it tonight, "That bites."

They four of them talk about random things. They joke about all having really old fashioned names, like a bunch of grandparents. More food arrives for the girls. The conversation drifts from topic to topic. Wally steals some of Dick's fries at super speed. Bea and Barbara ask Wally questions about living in Central City and going to public school.

"So do people smoke weed in the bathrooms?" Betty asks, "I'm pretty sure students at GA just do cocaine."

"I don't, if your asking. Eh, some people smoke weed in there. Just the really edgy kids. And wow, cocaine. Expensive drug for a fancy school."

"I don't snort cocaine. If that's what you think. But I know of some juniors and seniors that do," Bea says defensively.

"Wish I went to public school," Dick and Barbara both say at the same time. Bea laughs.

"Why? You wanna smoke weed in the bathroom?"

Wally snorts, "Sorry Dick, but they would literally eat you alive in public school."

"Well at least I wouldn't be surrounded by snobby white rich kids who think I shouldn't even be going to GA," Dick says, leaning back and crosses his arms.

Bea looks confused and laughs a little, "Dick, you are a rich white kid."

"I wasn't born rich. And I'm white passing. Well, I was until I mentioned my Roma heritage during my history presentation," Dick sighs.

"You're a gypsy? I had no idea."

"Bea!" Barbara says, frowning.

"What?"

"You can't just call people gypsies. It's a slur."

Wally nods, "It's kinda like calling a black person the 'N' word."

Dick just slides down on the seat while his two red-haired friends correct Bea. Sure, it's nice they're sticking up for him, but he wishes they wouldn't make such a big deal out of it. If people make such a point about him being 1/4 of a minority, what would they think of him being bisexual?

"It's fine," Dick says, waving his hand a little, "Most people don't know it's a slur anyways. I'm surprised you even know who Roma people are."

"Still, I'm sorry. I think I heard the term Roma in history class sometime," Bea says.

"Probably in relation to concentration camps," Dick mutters. If he was living in Europe at the time he would have been double fucked. Even if he does pass as white, he'd be caught on the queer aspect.

Bea asks how Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne's ward, is friends with a random sophomore from Central City.

"Bruce is friends with my uncle. And I'm not actually from Central City. My parents live in Blue Valley Nebraska," Wally tells her.

"You don't live with your parents?" Bea asks. Barbara's mouth straightens into a line, "What? I'm just asking."

"It's okay. I live with my Aunt and Uncle. For..reasons," Wally says.

Dick gives him a bit of a sympathetic look. Wally's dad used to hit him and verbally abuse him too. Rudy West got drunk a lot. His mother, Mary West, didn't make much time for him and didn't say anything to stop her husband. Iris stepped in when he was almost fourteen and took Wally back to Central City permanently.

Dick visited Wally only once in Blue Valley. He still remembers the looks he got from Rudy as they went upstairs to play video games. The homophobic stuff he had shouted at Ellen Degeneres while channel surfing. That was a few years ago. Dick had been twelve and Wally was thirteen. Rudy is the complete opposite of his sister Iris. Needless to say, all those years with a dad like that did damage. Dick supposes it's just as well that Wally is straight.

They finish up their food and drinks and tidy up the table. Bea asks what everyone wants to do next. Dick shrugs.

"Bruce gave us fifty bucks. There's thirty five left. We can do whatever."

"Bruce only gave you fifty bucks?" Bea asks in amazement.

Wally and Barbara exchange a look.  _Rich people._

"Dick and I were planning on going to the arcade, but we've got no coins," Wally says.

"You know you can ask them to convert it into coins there right?" Barbara asks. Dick and Wally glance at each other. Oh. Barbara and Bea laugh.

"Well in that case, care to join us ladies?" Wally asks with a grin.

"Wally, listening to your awful flirting is eventually going to kill me," Dick says with a groan. It's painful in more ways than one.

Bea gets a phone call from her mother, telling her to come home, so she leaves. Barbara says she better be off too, "Might as well get my homework finished and have the weekend free. Nice meeting you, Wally. See you later, Dick."

They wave goodbye to her and leave the pizzeria. Wally hums and says, "Later, huh?"

Dick rolls his eyes, "For patrol, dumbass."

They head towards the arcade, which is a few blocks away. Wally isn't fond of walking, but puts up with it to walk alongside Dick. Even then, his pace is significantly faster with longer strides. Dick has to move his legs faster to catch up, so he's practically trotting along beside him.

They talk and make stupid jokes while dodging around the random Gotham citizens. Once they arrive at the arcade they get ten dollars converted into change and start playing some of the games. Wally kills it at the dancing games, mostly because he uses his speed to his advantage. Dick is better at racing games, seeing as he can actually drive.

Wally uses his tokens to get nothing but sweets. Dick gets some candy floss, a slinky and a cool poster. The slinky happens to be very brightly coloured, Wally doesn't say anything about it other than he hasn't seen a slinky in a while, so Dick figures it's okay.

They sit on a bench in a small nearby park, surrounded by the red, orange and yellow hues of the autumn leaves. Wally offers him some of the sweets he had gotten. Dick lets himself imagine, just for a moment, that they're on a date. A date with Wally wouldn't be very different from what they're doing now. But he crushes that thought. Out of guilt. Wally's straight. So Dick shouldn't think about him in a romantic way. It's wrong, right?

But he does. That's the problem.

Every time he and Wally are alone Dick desperately wants to tell him. The words never come, caught in his throat. He stops himself out of fear of rejection. Or out of fear of things changing between them for the worse. Dick hates feeling like this. Why couldn't he just have a massive crush on Barbara instead? Sure, he does kind of like her, but not as much as this.

"Dude. You're looking at me weird again. If you're worried about those guys teasing you then don't. Bullies are idiots. I mean, I've got abs yet guys still pick on me for the ginger thing. The science thing too."

"Oh uh, I wasn't thinking about those guys. Although, that sucks," Dick says. Wally does have abs. Dick has seen them. Sure, Dick kinda has abs too, but they're not as defined yet. He's strong, but doesn't look it.

"Maybe I should just die my hair."

"No!" Dick exclaims, a little too frantically, "No. Don't dye it. I like your hair. Not like-like your hair. That would be weird. But I like it the way it is."

He wants to hit himself in the head so he can pass out and forget saying that.

"Because it reminds you of Barbara, I know. You said earlier. Were you thinking about her just then?" Wally says with a grin, elbowing his friend teasingly.

Dick blushes, "Uh..I guess."

Wally passes Dick the paper bag full of sugary goodness and lets him take his pick. He feels honoured that Wally shares his precious food with him. Dick takes a cola-flavoured gobstobber.

"Hey, so homecoming is next week at my school. There's a whole bunch of girls lining up who want me to go with them, but they're all very attractive and I can't make up my mind. So I was wondering if maybe you'd like to come with me," Wally says.

Dick's brain basically short circuits and he almost chokes on his gobstobber.  _Is Wally asking me to his homecoming?_

"You know, as friends." the ginger adds quickly.

"Uh-of course. Yeah, sure. I'd like to come," Dick desperately hopes his face isn't bright red. He's good at hiding his emotions, but hasn't quite mastered it as well as Bruce.

"Maybe you could bring Barbara too," Wally suggests with a wink.

"Oh. Uh, I don't think so. Her dad wouldn't let her," Dick says.

"Why not?"

Dick gives him a deadpan look, "Wally, she isn't in the same situation as us. Her dad has no idea she's Batgirl and there's no way Jim Gordon would let her go to a public school dance in Missouri with two boys."

Wally nods, then shrugs, "Mmm. Fair points. It'll still be fun though. A guys night out for us."

"What about your other friends at school?" Dick asks.

"They're not going. They all happen to be away for different reasons or have other plans. But it doesn't matter. You're my best friend anyway."

"You're mine."

They both look at each other and grin, then Wally goes back to eating his sweets. Dick's gaze lasts longer, if only for just a second. Then he looks down at the slinky he's holding. It's all the colours of the rainbow. He gets that stupid fluttery feeling and that tightness in his chest and wishes things were different.   
  
  
  


That night on patrol, Batgirl pulls Robin behind a large chimney in the older part of the city. Batman continues making his way along the rooftops, mind too occupied by the case he's working on to notice that his boy wonder isn't cartwheeling behind him.

He wouldn't worry too much anyways, Dick is allowed to wander off alone on more quiet nights...or when Catwoman is around. Sometimes Bruce sends him away when he's dealing with a pedophile. He doesn't tell Dick this of course, but he's old enough to figure it out.

"What actually happened today? What was Simon saying to you?" Batgirl says, one hand on the chimney behind his head.

"I told you they were teasing me about my name. Boys can be assholes, you know that," Dick says, straightening his back up against the chimney. She hasn't got him pinned, but he still feels trapped. Not a bad position for a guy to find himself in, except for the fact he's being interrogated.

"And?"

"I...I put my name down for cheer tryouts."

Barbara gives him a sympathetic look and sighs, "Oh, Dick."

"They..called me gay. Said stuff about..Bruce and I," Dick says, then swallows, "They..said things about my parents."

Dick feels the tears prickling in his eyes behind his mask. Shit. Their words are swimming around in his head. Next thing he knows, Barbara is hugging him. He rests his head on her shoulder. Her hair smells nice. Like peaches. It's funny, when he's with Wally, his brain screams  _boys boys boys_. Now it's screaming  _girls girls girls._  He wishes he could just make up his mind, but it seems like he's just stuck this way.

He moves his hips back, just a bit. He doesn't want a repeat of The Crazy Quilt Incident. That was awkward.

"I'm sorry, Dick."

"Well hey, I know some people give you shit too, because you're in GA on a scholarship and not money. They're just jealous because you get straight As and totally deserved it."

"Thanks, but seriously. Do you want to talk about it?" She asks, pulling back and holding his shoulders.

"No. I'm okay," he says, even though he might possibly cry in his room later. She doesn't need to know that.

"What about Wally? Do you want to talk about him?" Barbara says, raising an eyebrow.

Dick bites his lip. A blush creeps out under his black domino mask, "He was totally cool about the cheerleading thing. Encouraged me even. And...he asked me to his homecoming dance. As a friend, of course."

"He has absolutely no idea?"

"Nope. He's...under the impression that I like you," Dick says.

Barbara rolls her eyes, and starts walking across the roof, "Oh god. Wally is an oblivious idiot."

"What? I mean it's..not exactly a lie either. I do kinda like you too," Dick says. He can feel his face burning.

"You, boy wonder, are the definition of bisexual disaster," Babs says, laughing.

"Okay, fair enough. But don't tell anyone. Please."

"Don't worry. My lips are sealed."

"And it's  _teen wonder_ , not boy wonder," Dick says as Batgirl jumps over onto the next rooftop. He runs after her and they both go to catch up with Bruce.

After apprehending the bad guy and dropping him off at the GCPD, Batman and Robin hop into the batmobile and head back to Wayne manor. In the car, there's the usual silence. It's not uncomfortable per say, Dick is used to Bruce being quiet. It's not until they're leaving the city Bruce asks him a question.

"What happened to your face?"

"Took you a while to ask," Dick says. When he got home after hanging out with Wally it had started bruising a bit. He had told Alfred what happened because there's no point in lying to the old man. Bruce had clearly seen it in his office but had decided not to mention it in front of Wally.

"Did someone throw a pencil at you?"

"It's nothing. Some jerk shoved me against the notice board covered in pins."

"Why?"

Dick rolls his eyes, "Why do you think?

Why is his life so damn complicated?

Bruce makes his signature  _hrm_  sound, looking straight ahead at the road. He's quiet for a few moments before asking, "Do you want to be homeschooled by Alfred instead?"

"What? No! People already think I'm weird enough."

"I was homeschooled by Alfred after I got expelled from GA and I turned out fine."

"No offence B, but a grown man dressing up as a bat and fighting criminals isn't exactly fine. Also, you getting expelled all those years ago doesn't add anything good to my rep. Teachers are always expecting me to pull something even though I have a perfect record. Especially Mrs Johnson. She's a mean old hag."

" _Dick_."

"It's true and you know it," Dick says, crossing his arms. The corner of Bruce's mouth creeps up.

"Also..." Dick says, "Wally invited me to a school dance in Central City. As a friend. Obviously. Can I go?"

"Hrm...when?"

"Next week."

"Hrm. What time?"

"Like you really care how late I stay out. Probably 8 to 11. But taking timezone differences into account we'll be out till midnight EST time. I'll probably stay over at his aunts house.'

"Hrm. I'll get the details from Barry. But it sounds alright."

Dick smiles. They arrive back to the cave and even though he's pretty tired, Dick still flips off of the batmobile. Alfred is waiting for them with a fresh pot of tea and two cups at the ready. Dick wonders, not for the first time, if Alfred  _actually_ sleeps. He probably runs solely on sarcasm and English breakfast tea.

"Hi Alfred," Dick greets, landing in front of the butler after a series of cartwheels and round-offs along the platform. He takes the cup from the tray Alfred is holding and two biscuits. Alfred imports a lot of food from the U.K, which includes hob nobs and custard cream biscuits. Dick, with his sweet tooth, loves them. They're just that little bit sweeter than American cookies.

"Thank you!" Dick says, sitting into Bruce's chair at the batcomputer.

Bruce comes along and takes one plain rich tea biscuit, because aside from the vigilante thing, he's  _boring_. He pulls off his cowl and looks at the fifteen year old occupying  _his_  chair for the second time today. Well, not today. It's now technically very early Saturday morning.

"Move," Bruce says. Dick shrugs and swallows his mouthful of hob nob.

"Got here first."

"I guess I'll just have to sit on you then," Bruce sighs. Even though he's making one of his rare jokes, Dick isn't to keen on finding out if the 210lb man will actually do that. He slips out of the chair.

"Finish your tea and go to bed."

"It's a Friday night," Dick mock groans.

"It's 2:38 Saturday morning," Bruce corrects.

"I suggest you both go to bed as I will be waking you at half past ten for breakfast," says Alfred, "After that you can practice for your cheerleading tryout."

Bruce looks up from the computer, "Cheerleading tryout?"

"Yes, Master Dick signed up today."

Bruce glances at Dick, who just sips his tea and avoids eye contact.

"That's why you were shoved against the notice board," Bruce says.

Dick doesn't reply. He chugs the rest of his tea and hands the cup back to Alfred, "I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

Dick jogs up the staircase to the manor, yellow cape waving behind him. Alfred sighs.

Almost ten minutes later Dick settles into bed. At least, his body does. His mind is anything but settled. He closes his eyes, then starts thinking about Monday. He's going to be the only boy trying out for cheerleading. Dick wants to just not give a shit, ignore the stupid haters and do his thing, but it's not easy. He knows one thing for sure though; he's going to ace it.


	2. Dancer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I love these two dorks oh my gosh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I figured that according to my rough plan for this story, chapter 1 and 2 are set in 2008/2009. This was originally two chapters, but I sandwiched them together, added more and then..got a little carried away at the end. Oh well. Was also going to get this beta read and then didn't. Anyway. Hope you enjoy!

Alfred comes into Dick's room at 10:20am, where the teenager is sprawled across the bed like he always is, and wakes him. The butler throws the curtains open and the morning sunlight streams in. Dick ducks his head under the covers and groans.

"Breakfast is going to be served in ten minutes master Dick. I expect to see both you and master Bruce bright eyed and bushy tailed downstairs."

"My tail isn't bushy till twelve," Dick mutters. Alfred chooses to ignore this comment and walks out again.

Dick rubs the sleep out of his eyes and groggily climbs out of bed. He goes to the bathroom, washes his face and gets dressed.

Dick arrives down at  the breakfast table before Bruce. He and Bruce don't usually eat breakfast together. While Dick gets up for school most mornings, Bruce doesn't show up to work in Wayne Enterprises until midday. Alfred probably orchestrated this as a way to get the two to communicate.

There's a nice Saturday breakfast spread, with toast, baked beans, granola, cereal, eggs, bacon and two blueberry muffins. Seemingly a lot for two people, but it's needed. Lots of calories to burn.

Dick pulls out the chair on the right side to the head of the table and sits down. He grabs some toast, butters it and then spoons baked beans on top of it. The idea of doing such a thing was weird to him when Alfred first suggested it, but Dick has grown fond of the British comfort food. Alfred, on the other hand, still doesn't really understand why Americans think muffins are a suitable breakfast item, but included them anyways.

Dick is already moving onto some cereal when Bruce comes into the breakfast room - yes, they have a separate dining from just for breakfast - wearing his silk red and gold embroidered bathrobe. He hasn't shaved yet and has a dead look in his eyes. Dick is well used to the sight by now.

Bruce seats himself at the head of the table and makes a grunting noise that resembles 'good morning.' Bruce Wayne between the hours of 3am-12pm is a rare sight.

"Morning," Dick says, then shoves another spoonful of cereal into his mouth. Froot loops. The cereal brand never came into the manor before Dick did. Neither did pop tarts, but Dick is only allowed those for breakfast on his birthday.

Bruce picks up the newspaper Alfred had set on the table next to him. He examines the headlines while pouring himself a large mug of pure black coffee. Dick wouldn't mind some coffee himself, but there's no sugar on the table and he can't drink coffee without a few spoons of it. Or without cream. His orange juice will have to do.

"Another school shooting yesterday," Bruce says with distaste. Those were becoming a lot more common.

"Yeah, I heard about it at school yesterday. Detroit. One dead, three injured, all students. Started the usual debate in class. Some kids were even bragging about the guns they have," Dick rolls his eyes.

"Do you know what to do if a shooting happens at school?" Bruce asks seriously.

"Yeah. We did an ALICE drill last week."

They eat in silence for a little while as Bruce reads through the paper. This would be the perfect opportunity for Dick to tell Bruce that he's bisexual, but the words just..don't come. It's like there's something physically preventing him. It's weird. Usually he talks  _too much_. He knows Bruce probably won't care. He's liberal and his cousin is a lesbian for goodness' sake.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" Bruce asks, stiff and awkward, catching Dick off guard. His heart starts racing but he manages to reply somewhat calmly.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you being bullied?"

Oh phew. It's not the 'are you gay?' conversation.

"I'm used to it Bruce, I've been moving from school to school as a circus kid all my life. I've heard every joke about my name in the book," Dick says with a shrug.

"Then what's bothering you? Is it..a girl?"

"Why are you assuming it's a girl?" Dick retorts immediately without thinking. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.

"Well what other problems does a teenage boy have?"

Thank god for Bruce's cluelessness. Greatest detective in the world is also emotionally constipated. Dick's heart slows back down a bit again until Bruce adds, "Or is it a puberty thing?"

"What? No!" Dick says, scrunching up his face.

"I was a late bloomer myself if that makes you feel any better."

"Oh my god.." Dick groans, putting his head down on the table.

Bruce smirks a little, then goes back to reading his paper. Dick should probably let Bruce know that he's bi, but talking doesn't seem to be the way to do it. Maybe he could write him a letter or something, as cheesy as that sounds.

After breakfast, Dick does most of his homework and then goes out onto the immaculately mowed lawn to practice for tryouts. He does a few simple cartwheels and flips on the grass to start out, then realises he has no idea what he's expected to do for tryouts. Does he do an actual cheer? Or use pom-poms? Do male cheerleaders even use pom-poms? Or are they exclusively  the base of the pyramids?

He's stumped. Dick figures he should have paid more attention to cheerleading while watching Kim Possible. Was there male cheerleaders in Kim Possible? Not that he can think of.

Alfred comes out and finds him lying on the grass with his limbs spread out. He's had a realisation ; Señor Senior Junior in Kim Possible was definitely a gay coded character.

"Are you alright, Master Dick?" The butler says, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Alfred, what do people even do for cheer tryouts?"

"I'm afraid you're asking the wrong person. As you are aware, I didn't attend high school in the States."

"Right."

"May I suggest searching it online? That is what your laptop is for."

Dick sits up abruptly, "Oh yeah! Why didn't I think of that? There's a YouTube tutorial for everything. Thanks, Alf."

Alfred nods as Dick scrambles to his feet and runs back into the manor. He runs past Bruce in the main living room, now watching the 24 hour news channel. Dick grabs his laptop and flops down onto his bed. In almost no time at all he finds what he's looking for. It's a girl in the video but that probably doesn't matter too much, right?

After watching the video, which is a couple of minutes long, his heart is racing. Most people practice for weeks beforehand and he has two days. Dick has to learn a cheer and a bit of a dance too. Sure, he did routines in the circus but that was mostly on the trapeze. As far as he can tell, friends usually try out in pairs.

He grabs his phone and sends Barbara a text.

**BABS WHAT HAVE I DONE??**

A minute or two later she replies.

**Whatever it is, I'm guessing it was stupid?**

**Cheer tryouts! I'm gonna be the only guy there, most people try out in pairs, people usually practice for weeks beforehand and I have to learn a cheer and a routine!**

**...yeah.**

**I'm so many levels of screwed!**

**Calm down, boy wonder. You'll be fine once they see all the stuff you can do. I was pretty nervous too when I joined ballet. Just practice your butt off.**

**Thanks but I'm still terrified.**   
**Can you tryout with me? Pls??**

**Sorry, but no can do. I'm already practicing for a recital. Extra ballet on Monday after school. And I have more homework than you do.**

**Okay... :(**

**I gtg. Good luck!**

Dick tosses his phone onto the bed and flops down with it. After a minute of moping he manages to peel himself up and get to work. He's not going to get anything done by procrastinating. Babs and Wally both believe in him, so he's going to prove them right.

\-------------

Monday arrives way too quickly for Dick's liking. He followed all of the tips in the video to the best of his ability and practiced almost all weekend. Alfred wishes him good luck when he drops him to school in the morning. The tryouts are after school and it's safe to say he's pretty nervous.

"I saw your name on the list for cheer tryouts," Bea says to him at lunch, "That's pretty brave of you. Most guys wouldn't have the balls to sign up."

"Uh, thanks," Dick says, then bites into his now cucumberless sandwich. The slices of cucumber have been picked out. He hasn't the heart to tell Alfred that he hates them.

"Although, to be fair, most guys also don't have the balls to sit with a group of girls at lunch," Allison says, then takes a bite into her salad. She does ballet with Barbara.

"And not freshman girls either," Bea adds. Barbara gives him a look that says ' _I'm so sorry_.'

"I do have friends who are guys, just none from Gotham," Dick tells them. Well that isn't 100% accurate. He's gotten along with Luke Fox, Lucius's son, the couple of times he has met him. He goes to GA too, but hangs out with his own friends. Luke says hello to him occasionally.

"Like Wally?" Bea says.

"Who's Wally?" asks Allison.

"His friend from Central City. Also a sophomore. Ginger. Met him on Friday. Didn't we tell you?"

Allison shakes her head and looks at Dick, "How do you know someone from Central City?"

"Bruce knows his uncle," Dick explains. Allison asks about his other friends so he fills her in, "Well there's Donna. Lives in New York. Her older sister is a diplomat, so I know her through Bruce's stuff. Roy, who's legal guardian is Oliver Queen, enough said. Then...there's Garth."

"That makes sense," Bea says, nodding, "So where's Garth from?"

"Uh," Dick isn't really sure what to say. He can't say Atlantis, for obvious reasons, "He..he has connections with royalty. In..Europe."

Allison's brown eyes widen with excitement, "Oh my gosh, Is he a prince?"

Dick has to stop himself from laughing, "No. He's not actual royalty. But he knows royalty."

"Are these guys you mentioned good looking? I'd love a boyfriend," Bea says with a sigh.

Dick laughs nervously, "I'm probably not the best judge of that. Because you know. I'm not gay."

"You're not?" Jane, who had been busy eating her salad, asks in surprise. Barbara sighs and Dick sinks a little in his chair.

"No. I like girls. Definitely like girls," Dick says. He's just digging himself into a hole now. He's disgusted with the words that are coming out of his mouth. He shouldn't be ashamed, but he doesn't want everyone to know either.

"If you say so."

After lunch, Barbara walks out of the cafeteria with him because they both happen to be heading left, "I'm so sorry about them Dick, honestly. I need better school friends but most of the girls here are stuck up bitches and they were the okayest ones I could find."

It's highly unusual to hear her say the word 'bitches' so Dick chuckles a little, "Yeah. Most of guys are stuck up too."

Barbara hums in agreement, then starts to turn a corner, "I've got to go. Good luck with your tryout later!"

"Thanks," Dick says. He watches her go for a second, then continues straight ahead towards his locker.

There's a yellow post it note stuck onto the door that he spots as he approaches. He's almost afraid to read it, thinking it's going to be something awful. To his surprise, as he gets close enough to see it properly, he recognises it as Wally's slanted handwriting.

**_Good luck!!! :)_ **

He had written the smiley face as if he was typing it out. Dick feels his face heat up and those stupid butterflies in his stomach. The note wasn't there earlier, so Wally probably ran all the way from Central City during before his lunch to stick it there. Wally is adorable and has absolutely no idea.

Dick pulls off the note and opens his locker. Before getting his books he sticks it on the inside of the door, next to a picture of him and the other teen titans (in civilian clothing of course). There's also a photo booth strip with Barbara and him making silly faces.

For the next few classes he is overcome with butterflies. However, thanks to his training he's still alert enough to know what to say when a teacher asks him a question. 

After school, Dick grabs his duffle bag from his locker and heads towards the boy's locker room. The place smells like sweaty socks and axe deodorant. There's a couple of older guys in there getting ready for football practice. He fights his hormones and doesn't peek at them. Dick quickly gets changed into a white t-shirt and black shorts, then swaps his school shoes for more suitable footwear.

He heads towards the gymnastics hall, which is separate from the main sports hall because  _private school._ Dick ticks his name off on the list and is given a number. Then, he waits in the corridor with the other people trying out. All girls. Most are talking to their friends. One girl is standing doing her stretches by herself. Her brown skin stands out in the group of white students.

"Hi," Dick says.

"Hi," she greets back, "You're Bruce Wayne's kid aren't you? Richard Grayson. Name kind of stood out on the sheet."

"Yeah. That's me," he confirms, starting to do some basic stretches, nothing crazy. It's not easy to do stretches on his own. The general point is to bend till it starts to sting, but he's so bendy it's hard to reach his limit without someone else's help.

"I'm Heather. Can I ask...why cheerleading? Why not track, football or lacrosse? Polo maybe?" She asks with curiosity. Dick had almost forgotten that the school actually  _has_  a polo team. What the hell?

"I thought it might be fun."

"You any good?"

"At cheerleading? Not sure yet. I just started practicing on Saturday," Dick says. Heather laughs.

"Please tell me you're joking."

Dick shakes his head and says with a smile, "Unfortunately I'm not."

Dick then puts his hands on the floor and goes into a handstand. From there, he bends until his feet are touching his head.

"Woah. What the heck," Heather says with surprise, "How?"

Dick can sense everyone else's eyes on him too. Most of them whisper to themselves, except for one, who rolls her eyes. Ah, Maria Falcone. If only everyone knew she was in this school because of her family's crime fortune, "He's a circus freak, Heather."

Dick bends and lands back on his feet. Heather ignores the negative commentary, "That's cool. I'm guessing you were an acrobat or something?"

"Yeah. And a trapeze artist. My parents were the best in the business," he tells her, pleasantly surprised that she's taking an interest rather than degrading it. People always go to watch the circus perform, but don't care much for the actual circus folk once the show is over.

"The cheerleading makes sense then."

"I guess it does."

They chat while they wait to be called. Her parents are separated. Heather's mother is an actress working in Hollywood most of the time, so she lives with her dad in Gotham. Aside from going to Gotham academy, her life is more like a regular citizen's. 

After waiting a while, it's finally Dick's turn. As he walks into the gymnastics hall he imagines that he's back in the circus and about to do performance with his parents. It helps calm his nerves.

The tryout is over before he knows it. He glances towards the double doors and sees all the girls gawking at him through the little windows. Dick feels his face go a bit red. He clearly did well. The coach looks pretty impressed too.

After the last few tryouts, the cheerleading coach talks to everyone. Mrs Dupain-Cheng. She's a new teacher who's come from Massachusetts this year, according to Babs. Most students refer to her as Mrs DC.

"You all did well, but as you know, spots on the team are limited. The list will be posted on the sports notice board on Wednesday. Safe home everyone!"

Everyone is spilling out the door but Mrs DC calls Dick back, "Can I speak to you for a moment, Richard?"

"Uh..sure," Dick says, glancing at Heather who is just walking out, "Dick is fine by the way."

"Excuse me?" Mrs DC says.

"That's my name."

"Oh! Right. I thought you said..never mind."

"Did I..not make the team?" Dick asks with confusion. He's not sure how he wouldn't. Dick is pretty sure he aced his tryout, or at least did very well considering he didn't have long to practice.

"Look, Dick. You had the best tryout out of everyone in my opinion. But I have concerns over how the other students might react to you being on the cheer squad."

"Because it's gay?" Dick asks with a frown.

"It's not inherently gay, of course not. But you know how kids are. That's the way they'll take it and they'll treat it like its a bad thing. Trust me, I know from first hand experience." That surprises Dick. First hand experience? But she's a Mrs...oh wait. Massachusetts has same sex marriage, doesn't it? That's pretty cool. The realisation feels like a hug.

She continues, "I don't want you to be a target for bullies."

"Kinda too late for that. So..I didn't make the team?"

"I'm guaranteeing you a place on the gymnastics team instead. No tryout needed. I've already seen what you can do and I have a feeling you can do a lot more."

"Really?" his head perks up.

"It's small right now. But you won't be the only boy on it. Are you interested?"

"Yes!" Dick says excitedly. He is a little disheartened by not being able to do cheerleading, but then again he gets where she's coming from. Besides, the gymnastics team will probably be focused on more types of gymnastics than just floor.

"Congratulations then. You're now a member of the GA gymnastics team. I'll see you next Tuesday," Mrs DC says with a smile, "Now, you should probably get going."

"Thank you Mrs, really," Dick says, then walks out the door again. He catches Heather on her way out of the girl's locker room, holding her bag.

"Hey, Grayson. I'm guessing you got good news. You're smiling like you just saw a bunch of puppies."

"I didn't make the cheer squad. But I've been given a place on the gymnastics team."

"There's a gymnastics team?"

"Yup. I've gotta go grab my stuff. See you tomorrow?"

"Sure. Congrats," Heather says with a wave.  _She's nice_ , Dick thinks. What if he's lying to himself and is straight after all?

He walks into the boys locker room again and sees the football guys changing again. Nope, still bisexual.

Alfred pulls up in the Roles Royce to pick him up. Dick tells him about the tryout before he even gets the chance to inquire.

"Are you sure you'll be able to commit to the team with all your nighttime galavanting as the boy wonder?" Alfred asks. Dick can see his eyebrow raising comically in the rear-view mirror.

"Sure I can. I don't need to practice much for it because It's all routines and performance, just like the circus. Easy peasy."

"If you say so, Master Dick."

Bruce is of course, also a bit skeptical of the idea at dinner. Dick manages to convince him that it's extra training and that it might help him make more friends at school.

He meets Barbara on patrol that night and tells her his news.

"When do you start?" she asks, then takes another sip of her smoothie. The people at the drive thru are well used to Batgirl and Robin popping by the odd night by now.

Dick swallows the piece of donut in his mouth, then replies, "Next week."

"Think you could make it to nationals?"

"Of course. I am a Grayson, after all," Dick reminds her. It has gotten a lot easier to talk about his parents, although often he remembers little things about them that makes him sad. He leans back against the wall. They're in the belfry of the old Gotham clocktower. The duo have to be out of there before the hour is up, otherwise they'll be right next to the massive bell when it rings. Not pleasant.

"I figured that seeing as you're taking up a new thing in school, I could too. I volunteered in the school library."

"Why the library?"

"I like the idea of being a librarian," she shrugs.

"That's..kind of boring. I imagined you as like, a diplomat. Or a prima ballerina. Maybe a cop like your dad," he says. Barbara's cheeks flush pink at his high expectations of her.

"As if my dad would ever let me become a cop. No way. What about you? Do you think you'll go back to the circus? Or be an Olympic gold medal gymnast?"

"I..I don't know. I like what I'm doing now, fighting crime."

"A cop then?"

Dick shrugs.

The next morning, as Dick is grabbing his books from his locker, he hears someone say his name. He turns his head to see Heather approaching him. Her curly brown hair is pulled back in a pony tail.

"The whole school is talking about you dude," she tells him. He did notice people looking at him and whispering as he walked in.

"Why?"

"One of the girls yesterday recorded your tryout on her cell phone. She posted it on YouTube. I think the whole school has seen it at this point."

"Oh," Dick frowns. Great. Everyone is going to call him a circus freak. He'll have to be home schooled by Alfred.

He had no idea a video of him had been posted online. Barbara must have missed it too while they were on patrol. If she had seen it she would have told him.

"Why are you frowning? The whole school is talking about how awesome your flips and stuff are. I even overheard some  _senior_ s talking about you."

"Really?"

"Grayson!"

He turns his head and sees an older boy, a junior maybe, heading his way. Heather bids him adieu and leaves to go to her own locker.

"You're shorter than I thought you'd be in real life. I figured the camera distorted you or something. Anyway. I'm Jack," the older boy greets, holding out his hand for Dick to shake. He has a somewhat posh English accent, not very different to Alfred's.

"Dick," he replies, shaking it.

"Really? By choice?"

"Yeah."

"That's brave of you. I'm the co captain of the school gymnastics team. Nice to have another bloke joining us. You'll be the third."

"Uh, thank you," Dick says. Wow, Jack is good looking. Brown eyes and dirty blonde hair. He hopes his hand wasn't sweaty.

"So, Dick. What's your thing? Pommel horse? Uneven bars? Beam? Raised bar? Vault? Something else? Your floor stuff in the video was pretty good."

"Trapeze. But uh, I'm pretty versatile."

"Trapeze? Oh, wait. Circus kid. I forgot. That's pretty cool. Maybe you could teach me."

"Sure."

"I've got to fly. See you next week."

Dick nods, "Yeah. See you." He's been told he talks a lot and now he sort of understands how other people feel.   


  


It's 7pm on Friday and Dick is shoving the last few things he needs into his duffle bag. He's staying overnight at Wally's aunt's house after the dance. Dick is just finished packing when he hears Alfred call from downstairs.

"Master Dick, your date has arrived!"

Dick freezes in horror. Is Alfred onto him or just trying to be witty? Both? Face red, he shouts back, "Coming!" and puts the bag over his shoulder. He runs out of his room, down the hallway and slides down the banister of the grand staircase.

Dick tries his best not to react much at the sight of his best friend. Wally is standing just inside the door, wearing a navy button down shirt with a blue tie that is probably Barry's. The red sneakers sort of throw off the semi-formal look, which is just as well, because Dick doesn't think he could handle Wally wearing a proper suit.

Dick on the other hand hasn't had to borrow anything like a tie, because he has plenty of formal wear from all the galas he attends with Bruce. He's wearing a white shirt tucked into proper navy dress-pants and a light blue tie. However, he has also opted for sneakers.

"Hi. You ready to go?" Wally asks, hands in his pockets. Dick adjusts the strap of the bag over his shoulder.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow Alfred," Dick says.

"Have fun."

Per usual, Wally gives him a piggyback ride all the way to Central city. They make a quick stop to get snacks and shove them into Dick's bag for later before arriving at Barry and Iris's place. The two boys go straight up to Wally's room, formally the guest bedroom, to fix up their hair. There was no point doing it beforehand as the run would just mess it up. Dick tosses his bag onto the floor like he's done many times before.

Wally opens the bottle of hair gel and starts to spike his red locks in front of the mirror. Dick combs his dark fringe. Its usually combed back for school and various Wayne functions, but for this its cooler to have it down.

"How did your tryout go? Did you get my note? Are you hanging out with hot cheerleaders yet?" Wally asks with a grin.

"Good. I got your note, yeah. Thanks for that. Uh, not quite,"  _don't blush don't blush._

"Not quite?"

"I..didn't make the team," Dick admits.

"How?!" the ginger exclaims, turning to face him, "That's impossible!"

"The coach was concerned that I would get bullied being the only guy on the cheer squad. She guaranteed me a place on the school gymnastics team. My skills would be put to better use on it and I wouldn't be the only guy," Dick explains. He obviously leaves out that one of the other guys on the team is a knockout.

"Oh. That's probably better then."

Hair sufficiently spiked, Wally grabs the Axe deodorant and is about to spray himself with it.

"That stuff is awful," Dick says, nose wrinkling up in disgust.

"But it's going to help us get girls," Wally says with a shrug.

"I was unaware we were trying to get any girls," Dick says, "Surely girls would prefer something that smells nicer? Barbara smells nice. Fruity. Like peaches."

"Are you suggesting we wear girl's deodorant?" Wally says.

"Well, It sure smells better than this shit," Dick points to the Axe, "And every other guy there is going to smell like Axe too. Wearing something different would increase your chances."

Wally considers for a moment, "Aunt I probably has something."

Wally flickers and suddenly he's holding a white can of deodorant. He must have run to his aunt and uncle's room and gotten it too fast for Dick to see. Wally passes it to him, and he reads the labels.

"Anti-perspirant and body fragrance. Scent of apple and honeysuckle. Sounds much better."

When they come downstairs, Iris greets them with a massive smile, "Oh look at the two of you! So handsome."

She wraps her arms around the boys and pulls them both in for a hug. Wally goes bright red with embarrassment. Iris sniffs, "Are you wearing my body spray?"

"No!" Both boys say in unison.

"Not judging, but you could have asked first," Iris says with a chuckle, letting them go. She has a look her face, like she knows something they don't.

The front door opens and Barry rushes in with a box of case notes, late even by his standards, "Hey boys. Am I taking you guys or is Iris?"

"Uh, no offence Barry, but Dick can probably drive better than you can," Wally says, pointing a thumb at the fifteen year old standing next to him.

"Really? Because Batman drives like a maniac," Barry says, putting down his box.

"As his shotgun I can confirm that," Dick says with a laugh.

"Why don't you guys pick out a DVD or tape to watch later?" Iris suggests, "Then I'll take you boys to the school."

They nod, heading into the living room and straight to the shelves filled with DVDs and older VHS tapes. They go through them, occasionally pulling some out from the shelf. Dick and Wally can both remember the excitement of DVDs back when they were brand new. Like CDs, but way better.

"Hey, what's this?" Dick asks.

Wally looks at the DVD case his friend is holding and his eyes widen. Brokeback Mountain. Came out a couple of years back. He's watched it by himself in secret and it definitely made a lasting impression. There's no way he's going to watch it with his best friend. He's not even sure what it's doing down here. Wally is pretty sure that he had it hidden in his room along with the other R rated movies Roy had given him.

"Uh, that's rated R. Iris won't let us watch it."

"Yeah. Probably not," Dick says, putting it back onto the shelf. He has heard of Brokeback Mountain and knows that it's about two men, although he hasn't seen it. Dick wanted to test Wally's reaction. Judging by his face, Wally has likely watched it already. Dick isn't sure what to make of that.

They pick out some horror movie, which Iris initially frowns a bit at, especially because it has a 16+ rating. Dick convinces her that he's seen much scarier things fighting crime in Gotham and that Batman won't mind in the least.

"Everyone watches horror movies on sleepovers, you know that Iris," Wally says.

"Maybe that's what you boys do but all I watched was Dirty Dancing over and over again," she says with a laugh, "Alright, if you boys are ready, we'll go."

Iris drops them off outside the school and they head into the gymnasium with all the other teenagers. Dick has only been to middle school dances so far, but he figures there's not much difference other than the ages of the students. His detective sense can tell that some of the other students have been drinking before coming here. The more obvious ones are turned away, but some slip in.

The gymnasium is decorated with balloons and streamers. There's a few banners reading 'homecoming' strung up around the place and a table with non alcoholic beverages and snacks in one corner. A DJ is set up on a stage at the far side and big speakers are blasting music. Although not everyone is here yet, there is still a large number of people dancing in the middle of the hall. Other people mill around the sides.

Wally immediately leads Dick in the direction of food. While Wally is shoving potato crisps in his mouth, Dick just pours himself some Coca Cola. He figures that they'll probably eat all the junk they put in his duffle bag later and he doesn't want to be too full to miss out on it.

"So are any of your friends at all here?" Dick asks, raising his voice to be heard over the music, "Because if it's just the two of us all night, people might...get the wrong idea."

"There's some people I know. Not my main friend group, but people I have classes with," Wally tells him.

"What're your friends doing instead?"

"They're going drinking somewhere. There was no point in me going because I can't get drunk. So I turned them down."

"They're probably wondering why," Dick says. Wally shrugs.

"I just reminded them that my aunt is an investigative journalist and my uncle is a CSI so they'd find out pretty easy if I pulled something like that."

Dick nods and drinks his soda. Its just a metabolism thing, but its nice thinking Wally turned down drinking beer with his other friends to hang out with him.

After about ten minutes the gym is packed and they move away from the snack table. Wally finds a group from his physics class and loudly introduces Dick to them.

"There's no point joking about his name because he's probably heard it before," Wally shouts over the music, "He's from Gotham."

"Hi," Dick raises his hand with a little wave.

"Hey, I know you! You're that billionaire's kid!" one girl in a blue babydoll dress (who Wally introduced as Monica) says, "I've seen you a few times in magazines and stuff." Dick didn't expect to be recognised in Central City.

"Woah, really? How the heck do you know this guy, Wally?" Another boy (Marc) in yellow shutter glasses asks.

"My uncle knows Bruce Wayne."

"That explains nothing. Your uncle is a CSI, right?"

"It's a long story," Dick tells them.

"You're a freshman, aren't you?" Monica asks. Dick nods, and she says, "Aw. You're cute."

"Jeez Heather he's 15, not 5," Wally says with a laugh. Dick can't help blushing.

"He is pretty cute," Another girl, Katie, agrees, "Nice eyes."

After a bit more shouting at each other they decide to hit the dance floor, just in time for the Cha-Cha Slide. Lots more people take to the floor. It's a great song for people who aren't very good at dancing because it tells you exactly what to do.

After that, the DJ plays 'Don't Stop Believin' by Journey, followed by 'Just Dance.' There's a good mix of classic 80s and 90s dance songs with some more recent stuff. Practically everyone is on the dance floor for the Macarena. There's something magnificent about how it unites everyone.

Dick asks Wally where the bathroom is and after receiving directions, he leaves the gym. He spends longer than he originally intended in there to reply to a text Barbara sent him, asking how it was going.

When Dick returns there's a slow song playing. Anyone who doesn't have someone to dance with gathers around the sides. Dick looks around for Wally's ginger hair. He squeezes through the crowd a bit. His mouth drops open when he spots Wally on the dance floor, slow dancing with a blonde-haired girl. He hadn't seen her before. Must have arrived late. His heart sinks.

After two more painful minutes the song changes back to something more upbeat and Wally starts walking towards him, pulling the blonde girl by the hand.

"Hey, Dick! I'd like you to meet someone," Wally says. Dick wants to run out of there but instead he smiles politely, "This is Frances Kane. She's from Blue Valley too. She just moved here. I've known her since I was seven."

"Hi," Dick greets and Wally continues the introduction.

"Frances, this is my best friend, Dick Grayson. He's from Gotham. Kinda. He used to be in the circus. Dick's been all over the country. Europe, too."

"Nice to meet you," Frances says, "The circus? That's cool."

"Yeah, Dick can do all sorts of sick flips," Wally tells her. After a little more talking, Frances goes to the bathroom with a few of her friends. Neither of them quite understand why girls go in groups. Dick figures he should ask Babs.

"You're a genius dude," Wally says, nudging Dick, "She said I smelled really nice. Then when I asked her to dance she accepted right away!"

"That's great," Dick says with a somewhat forced smile. He's happy for Wally, of course, he's his best friend. But it still hurts. Frances comes back so Dick excuses himself to go get a drink while they head back onto the dance floor.

He stands by the table in the corner and drinks more Coca Cola out of a red plastic cup. For some reason they are always that colour. Dick tells himself that there's just under an hour left until the end and then Dick can have Wally all to himself again. He can deal with it.

Dick persuades himself to go back to dancing because it might lift his mood. Eventually the homecoming king and queen are announced (seniors, as always) and the dance draws to a close. Unfortunately the last song played is another slow one, so Dick is left standing and counting the seconds until he has Wally back.

Barry comes to pick them up in Iris's car, because he doesn't have one of his own. He cheerily asks how it went, if they danced with any girls and what songs were played. He teases Wally when he's told about Frances.

When they get back to the house, the sofa has been pulled out into a bed. Iris has already gone to bed and Barry follows suit. Dick goes upstairs to get changed and comes back down with his duffle bag over his shoulder. He stops at the foot of the stairs when he sees Wally sliding his navy button up off, turned away from him. Even with the lights dimmed he can see the freckles sprinkled across his pale shoulders and back. The way his muscles move.

Wally pulls on a red Flash t-shirt and when he turns around, Dick acts like he's only just walked in and hasn't been staring. He puts the bag down next to the couch and unzips it. Dick pulls out a large bag of Doritos, a few bars of Hersey's chocolate, some Skittles, M&Ms and Reece's cups. Dick doesn't care much for peanut butter, but knows Wally loves them. He also pulls out a can of Pepsi for each of them.

Wally puts the movie on, and they settle under the blankets with all their snacks. The film starts out pretty tame at first and they joke about how they've seen worse in the superhero/vigilante business, but it gets more and more terrifying as it progresses.

After one particularly bad jump scare they find themselves ignoring that they have their own sides of the couch. Dick leans into Wally's side. Speedsters are like space heaters.

"This isn't..weird right?" Wally asks nervously, "I mean, no homo."

"It's fine," Dick says. No homo. Those two words are actually painful to hear together.

"We should have watched footloose," Wally says, "I think you'd love it. Next time."

Movie over, with both of them sufficently scared, they decide to settle down for the night. That lasts about five seconds until they're talking.

"You know, in our world, I wouldn't be surprised if Bloody Mary exists," Dick whispers.

"Dude. Please don't put that thought into my head."

The two boys find themselves standing in the dark downstairs bathroom, in front of the mirror.

"You do it," Dick says,"You're older."

"No way. You summon her. You're a Gothamite, you're used to this scary shit. Said so yourself."

"I meant psychopathic clowns, not mirror dead ladies that kill people." Dick looks at their side by side reflections in the mirror and thinks for a moment, "Why don't we do it together?"

Dick counts down and then they both say 'Bloody Mary' three times into the mirror. The wait for her to appear. Nothing happens.

"Well. I guess she's not real," Dick says with relief he turns to leave the bathroom. Wally puts a hand on his shoulder and turns him back.

"Dude..what if it's like the Bloody Mary in Supernatural?"

"I haven't watched Supernatural," Dick tells him, "Don't have the time to catch up on all of it now."

"No? Season one, three girls on a sleepover play Bloody Mary. Nothing happens to them, but the host's dad gets his eyes gouged out and he dies."

"...Are you suggesting that we just killed Barry or Iris?" Dick asks with great concern.

Wally nods grimly, "I really hope not. I can't go back to my parents. My dad..." his voice cuts off and he blinks multiple times to avoid tears, too fast for Dick to see. Just the thought of having to deal with his dad again after the incident..

"We've gotta check," Dick says. Its stupid, of course. But, then again, he knows several people who can fly.

They sneak upstairs. Dick doesn't make a sound, it's almost creepy how quiet he is. Wally usually relies on speed for stealth, so he's definitely not as good at sneaking. The two boys poke their heads in through the slightly open door of Barry and Iris's room. They're both sleeping soundly. Neither of them have their eyes gouged out.

Dick and Wally finally call it a night and settle down under the blankets on the couch. Dick lies faced away from his best friend. He can almost feel Wally's body heat on the other side of the couch. He imagines what it would be like to have Wally wrap his warm arms around him from behind.

No. He can't think like that. There's no way in a million years that would  _ever_  happen.  
Dick moves to lie on his back and turns his head to look at Wally, who's back is facing him. He's so close, yet so far out of his reach.

The next morning, Wally wakes up first, around 10am. As a speedster, he doesn't need as much sleep. He charges fast. Dick, on the other hand is still dead to the world. He's also got his limbs sprawled everywhere, including an arm and a leg across Wally. There's no way a normal person would find that position comfortable, but then again, this is Dick.

"Dude," Wally whispers.

Nothing. Wally repeats, louder.

After several tries it gets to the point when Wally just decides to shout, "RICHARD JOHN GRAYSON!"

His best friend jumps. Dick's blue eyes snap open and he realises that he's invading Wally's personal space. He scrambles up into a sitting position, "Sorry! I'm really sorry. My arms and legs just go everywhere."

"Nah that's fine. I mean it's a little weird waking up to another guy's arm draped over your chest... I was just trying to wake you and you weren't responding."

"Oh," Dick says, face blushing red. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes, "Ugh. I hate mornings."

"I know. But we've gotta make the most of the day. Hang out until you've gotta go back to Gotham."

"I. Need. Coffee," Dick says, groaning dramatically.

"Coming up. Cream and lots of sugar, right?" Wally says, throwing the sheets off of himself and getting up. He heads into the kitchen and Dick soon follows. There's a note on the table from Iris. She and Barry have already gone to work so they have the place to themselves.

Coffee made (Wally supposedly takes 37 sugars, but Dick has never seen him count it), Wally starts making breakfast. Food is always plentiful in the West-Allen household, as it would have to be with two speedsters. Especially because one speedster is a teenage boy.

They sit down at the kitchen table, a feast of toast, eggs, bacon and pancakes with maple syrup. Wally pulls out a box of lucky charms for his cereal addicted friend. Dick can eat a lot, but nowhere near the amount of food Wally can consume in one sitting.

It would be so cool if they were roommates for college. Dick figures it could be like this every morning. Then it dawns on him that Wally is going to go off to college when Dick starts his senior year. He'll be so busy doing college things and Dick will be stuck in high school. They probably won't even go to the same college. Will they still be friends? Will they still be superheroes?

"Maybe we could go to the cave today. Haven't seen the other teen titans in a while with school and stuff," Wally suggests, then shoves bacon into his mouth.

"Yeah. I've been meaning to ask Donna about my 'inevitable glow up.' Maybe she'll be able to forecast when it's gonna come."

"Maybe. I hope it's soon," Wally says. Damn his mouth. It moves faster than his brain if he doesn't concentrate. He adds, "So you know, Barbara might take an interest."

Dick nods, "Uh, yeah. That would be nice," He stares down into his coffee mug. ' _I hope it's soon.'_ What was that about? Wally looked panicked for half a second. Probably nothing. No point getting his hopes up. He's just overanalysing.

"The girls seemed to like you last night," Wally says.

"Apparently I have nice eyes," Dick shrugs, looking at his friend over the mug as he drinks from it.

They were right, Dick has nice eyes. Blue like the sky on a summers day. When he's angry they go darker, like a stormy ocean. Wally doesn't see Dick like that of course. He can't. Dick's a guy. Wally told himself he wouldn't ever make that mistake again.

They get dressed and head to the teen titan's hangout. It's a random cave that they found early in their career as titans. Donna has a bedroom in it and is the only one who lives there. That's if you don't count Wally's tortoise, of course. The boys come and go whenever they're not needed elsewhere.

"Hey Garth," Dick says, giving a little wave to the Atlantean sitting on the couch reading a book about animals. He's wearing his red scaly t-shirt and blue shorts. Doesn't really wear much else. No need to wash clothes if you spend most of your life underwater, right?

"Is Donna around?" Dick asks.

"She's in her room," Garth tells him. Dick nods.

"I'll go say hi," he says, making his way towards the door.

"Dude, are you crazy? Donna will kill you! We're not allowed near her room," Wally says. His best friend shrugs.

"Maybe you guys aren't," he says, then knocks, "But I am."

"Who is it?" Donna's muffled voice is heard on the other side of the door.

"It's Dick."

"Oh! Come in!"

Dick turns to look at the other two boys with a smirk. They watch in disbelief as he disappears in through the door.

"I thought Donna liked Speedy," Garth says, "Not Robin."

"That's what I thought too."

"Have you ever seen a giraffe?"

"At the zoo, yeah. You haven't?"

Dick takes in the posters and photographs stuck up across the walls when he closes the door behind him. Donna is lying on her stomach on the bed with a magazine.

"Isn't Zac Efron just dreamy?" she sighs.

"He's pretty good looking, yeah. Can't say I'm a massive high school musical fan though," Dick says, taking a seat on her bean bag. There's no need to cover up anything with her. Donna was onto him since the beginning, but was very casual about it. After all, her sister Diana is bisexual like most of the amazons are. It's pretty normal to her.

"Nah. You secretly love it."

"I really don't," he shakes his head. He's watched it three times with her and Babs respectively. He may or may not know all the lyrics to get your head in the game. It's catchy, okay?

"So how was the dance? Did you tell Wally you like him yet? Did you kiss?" her blue eyes sparkle with excitement.

"It was fine. Also, no! Of course not!"

"I don't see why you're making such a big deal of it. Honestly, you boys are so bad at feelings," Donna rolls her eyes.

"America is very different to Themyscira. Besides, it's useless. Wally is straight," Dick shakes his head. She sighs.

"I know what'll cheer you up. Some beautiful people," Donna says, handing him the magazine, open on a large picture of Emma Watson at some recent event. She's so pretty.

"There's a picture of Miley Cyrus on the next page," Donna tells him.

"Oh wow," he says, after turning the page. "Hey so, Wally mentioned last week that you think I'm going to have an amazing glow up."

"Yeah. You have potential. Your parents were beautiful people so I don't see why not," Donna says as he hands her back the magazine.

"Will I be tall too?"

"Ehhhh...lets just say it's unlikely you'll get to six foot."

Dick frowns. No guy wants to hear that. They come out of her room after a few minutes of catch up chat. Donna greets Wally, who is feeding lettuce to his tortoise.

"Hey, why is he allowed in your room?" Garth asks. Donna looks at Dick. His face says  _don't tell them!_

"Because he's...the youngest," she ruffles his hair, "And a good listener."

Dick notices that Garth has gotten taller and a little broader since he last saw him. He didn't pick up on it while he was sitting down. Why can't Dick get taller too?

Garth suggests they head to the zoo. Due to living underwater most of the time, he's more familiar with fish and sea mammals than anything on land. He wants to see the animals he's read about in real life. Donna thinks this is a great idea and brings her camera.

"I feel like a ten year old again," Wally says to Dick as they walk through the large gates, "Iris took me out to the zoo a lot. I loved it. Haven't been in ages."

"I went to a zoo once with my parents when I was a little kid. Can't remember where," Dick replies. He doesn't even know if it was in America or Europe.

"Where should we go first?" Garth asks, holding out the unfolded map. He's trying and failing to hide his excitement.

"How about the aquarium?" Wally jokes, which earns him a look from the Atlantean.

"What about the monkeys? I wanna take some pictures of the little cute ones," Donna suggests, pointing them out on the map.

They make their way towards the monkey and ape enclosures. The teens pass by the giraffes and elephants on the way. Elephants have always been Dick's favourite animal.   
Garth starts spitting out facts he had learned while reading. He and Dick read the information boards next to each enclosure. Dick isn't sure if he'll ever find the fact that giraffes have black tongues useful, but it's pretty cool.

Donna insists on taking pictures at every opportunity. She gets a snap of Dick doing a one-handed hand stand next to one of the money enclosures after Garth remarks that they jump around as much as he does. Wally takes great interest in finding out a cheetah's top speed and insists that he can outrun it easily. Donna takes a picture of him posing by the cheetahs.

They make sure none of the zookeepers are around to see Garth taking a quick dip in the fountain. It's not a very warm day, considering the time of the year, but he starts to get scaly if he's out of water for too long. He's brought five bottles of salt water in his bag to keep himself hydrated.

Dick uses Donna's camera to take a picture of her holding a snake called Bernard in the reptile house. She's completely unfazed by it.

"Kinda feels like Garth when he starts drying up," Donna comments." The zookeeper in charge of the snake isn't sure what to make of that.

Dick and Wally take turns holding a small lizard called Doug. The two of them find interest in the thorny devil after discovering that it can shoot blood from it's eyes.

Garth doesn't understand the other's excitement over the pool of baby turtles. He tries to have a quick telepathic chat with them, but all he gets is something similar to lots of small children screaming on a schoolyard. He avoids the aquarium while the others go in as he'd rather not see any schools of fish.

Garth is fascinated by all of the tropical birds. Donna takes a picture of him holding a parrot. He's amazed to learn that all birds are descended from dinosaurs, but acts more cautiously after receiving the information.

Dick gladly buys everyone lunch and they sit at one of the picnic tables. Wally tries to give him some money because he's so expensive to feed but Dick refuses, saying he doesn't need it. They start arguing about it.

"Richard. Take the money."

"No. Wally, it's fine."

It turns into a wrestling match on the grass. Donna pulls them apart before Garth can spontaneously join in.

"Fine, but I'm getting everyone ice cream," Wally says, brushing the grass off of his hoodie.

"It's October," Dick points out.

"So? Who says ice cream is a summer only thing?"

" _Boys._ " Donna says, "There's no need to be so competitive, you're best friends. Stop trying to assert dominance or whatever."

The two of them fall silent, realising that they were probably trying to do that subconsciously. Weird.

After lunch they manage to find an ice cream place that's still open despite the season.

"Chocolate ice cream doesn't really taste like chocolate," Dick comments, nodding his head towards Wally's cone.

"Well, at least it doesn't taste like toothpaste," Wally shrugs, referring to his best friend's choice of mint chocolate chip.

"Shut up. But..thanks for the ice cream."

"It's no problem."

Dick sees Donna smile before taking another lick of her strawberry ice cream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is probably gonna be a little bit more angsty. Been feeling the bi angst recently. Also, there might be the first of many time skips.


	3. Runner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Woah, some angst like I promised lads..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So just a warning for those who need it, the shortened version of the f slur is used once and the q slur a few times (the q word doesn't personally bother me but I know some don't like it).  
> Thanks to @mielipieli for being my beta for this chapter!

"You're sixteen!" Wally says, throwing an arm over Dick's shoulder. His best friend has gotten taller, but so has he, so Wally still has to bend down a bit to do it.    
  
"Crazy right?" Dick says.    
  
"Any sign of armpit hair?" Wally teases. Dick shoves him a little.   
  
"Shut up."    
  
Donna and Lilith have decorated the cave with balloons, fairy lights and paper bunting for Dick's sweet sixteen (although he didn't want to call it that). Someone has plugged an iPod into a speaker, playing whatever’s currently in the charts. The smell of freshly popped party poppers hangs in the air. The remains of the party poppers are on the ground and various other surfaces, including on the teenagers' hair.    
  
Roy stands up on the old coffee table and clears his throat. Donna frowns just a little, worrying that it won't take his weight. She found it in a dump and after cleaning and repainting it, put it in their hideout. Donna is fond of her coffee table.   
  
"Okay Dickie, I'm now gonna tell you what you can legally do as a sixteen year old."   
  
"That's something coming from the guy who showed up to the party with beer cans," Garth points out.   
  
"Shh, Gillhead," Roy says. Garth grumbles at the nickname. The 17-going-on-18-year-old standing on the table holds up a piece of crumpled paper.   
  
"You can now legally get a driver's license. Not that you haven't been driving already, but now you can do so legally," Roy says, then continues reading, "You can sign up to be an organ donor or blood donor. You can consent to your own medical treatment. You can also acquire a passport without parental consent and get the fuck outta here. However, it requires ID such as a driver's licence so get that first."   
  
"I already have a passport," Dick tells him, then grabs one of the cupcakes on the plate next to Roy's foot.   
  
"Moving on, you can quit school. You can leave home with or without your legal guardian's consent and live on your own. You can get yourself emancipated and be your own legal guardian."    
  
"I bet you'd love to do that," Wally says, then takes a sip from one of the cans Roy brought. Only he, Donna and Roy have been drinking. Alcohol doesn't have much effect on Donna either. Amazons have strong tolerances.    
  
"I'm trying to find my own place right now. Gonna move out," Roy tells him, "There's probably other stuff that I couldn't be bothered with, but the best thing is...you can get laid in 31 states."   
  
Dick almost chokes on the cupcake he's eating.    
  
"Is New Jersey one of those states?" Donna asks, a little concern sneaking into her voice.   
  
Barbara nods in reply, familiar with the laws from having a cop for a dad. She's not a member of the Teen Titans and usually wouldn't be seen at the cave, but it's a special occasion. As far as Jim Gordon is concerned, she is roller skating with Dick in the local park and not in New York.    
  
"You can lose your V-card now," Wally says, glancing at Barbara while he nudges Dick. His friend understandably goes bright red. Barbara's cheeks turn pink.   
  
"Your first time will probably be shit, just warning you," Roy says, stepping off of the table, much to Donna's relief. Wally nods in agreement.    
  
Wally lost his virginity a few months ago with Frances. It was okay, he didn't hype himself up for it. He wishes he thought boobs were as exciting as other guys do, but he just doesn't.    
  
"It can't be that bad," Dick says, in denial, "A little awkward, maybe, but not shit."   
  
"It'll be better for you than it was for me," Wally says.   
  
"Why?"   
  
_ Shit. _ "Because...you've got us to give you advice."   
  
"Yeah. I guess so."   
  
Lilith gives Wally a weird look from across the room. She can read minds. She probably knows that deep down he doesn't like girls. But he also figures that she knows better than to tell anyone. Maybe she'll confront him some day and he'll deny it like he always does, even to himself.    
  
Donna disappears and comes back with a big chocolate cake. There's two blue candles shaped like a one and a six, plus two sparklers stuck into it. His friends start singing Happy Birthday, some more in key than others. Dick is horribly embarrassed. However, he can't stop smiling.    
  
Donna takes a picture of him blowing out the candles. She's done that every year for all of her friends. She's saving the pictures for their 21st birthdays.    
  
Dick blows out the candles and silently makes a wish. Wally starts singing 'For He's A Jolly Good Fellow' a little off key but changes it to 'Squishy Marshmallow' like he always does. Everyone joins in. More party poppers are popped.    
  
Once the singing dies down Wally asks, "What did you wish for?"   
  
"You know I can't tell you. It's bad luck. Although there's not much point. It's never going to come true," Dick says, looking into Wally's green eyes. They look nice under the fairy lights. There's confetti in his hair.    
  
Has he gotten over his crush on his best friend? Not quite. It hurts less that it did before. It was downright painful when Wally announced to him that he had asked Frances to be his girlfriend. He blamed himself for suggesting the body spray, then realised how ridiculous that sounded.    
  
Donna cuts up the cake and hands it out. She gives Dick the first and biggest slice. Wally suggests that he get a big slice too, but she reminds him of all the cupcakes he has eaten already (plus two whole packets of peanut butter cups) and then gives him a regular slice.    
  
When everyone is quieter and eating their cake, Dick wills himself to get up from the couch, walks over to the coffee table and stands on top of it, in the same free spot Roy stood in. Donna knows Dick is 

lighter than Roy (she has carried both of them, one arm each), but is still concerned for the table's welfare.   
  
"I...have something to tell everyone. Well, some of you already know. I figured now would be a good time to do it because it's my birthday and you're more likely to be nice about it. I uh...this is hard..." Everyone's eyes are fixed on him. Maybe standing on the table was a bad idea. His hands are sweating. He hopes he's not visibly shaking.    
  
"Come out with it," Roy says, crossing his arms and chuckling a little. Donna shoots Roy a look, like she's smacking him with her eyes. Dick coughs into his hand. He takes deep breaths.    
  
"I'm...um...I'm bisexual. I like girls, but I also like guys," Dick announces, nervously fiddling with his hands.   
  
Wally is pretty sure some Coca Cola comes out of his nose as well as his mouth. He starts coughing.  _ What?! _   
  
Dick isn't sure what to make of Wally's reaction.   
  
"Finally. Thought you'd never say it," Roy says, "Who else knew already?"   
  
Donna and Barbara raise their hands.    
  
"I told them, yeah, but how did you know?" Dick asks.   
  
"Because I'm also bisexual,  _ duh _ . I've seen the way you look at other guys. A certain guy in particular," Roy says smugly.    
  
Wally can't believe what he's hearing. Why didn't Dick tell him? Although it's not like Wally has told him anything. Who is this certain guy Dick supposedly looks at? Also, Roy likes guys too?!   
  
"You are?" Dick asks.   
  
"Yeah,  _ Sherlock _ , didn't you know?"    
  
"Have you told Green Arrow?" Dick asks. Roy shrugs.   
  
"Told him ages ago. He's as left as they come. You know that. Didn't give a fuck. Have you not told Bats?"   
  
"...Still working on it," Dick looks at Wally, who is just recovering from his fit of coughing, "Uh, does anyone have a problem with it?"   
  
Wally shakes his head frantically. The others say that they're cool with it. Lilith congratulates him on coming out, but quietly admits she already knew.    
  
"Anyone else want to declare their sexuality or is that it?" She asks, looking around the room. Her eyes stop on one person in particular, but not long enough for anyone else to notice. Lilith doesn't say anything else.    
  
Wally slumps back on the couch. He can't. It's not the same right? Dick and Roy still like girls too, so it's not that bad. He wasn't aware you could like both. Is that even a real thing? What if his friends react differently to him? Besides, he is in no way ready. He hasn't even told Barry yet.    
  
Dick sits down on the couch next to Wally, "You're..sure you're okay with it?"   
  
"Yeah. Sure. That was pretty brave, telling everyone. I couldn't have done that. If I was, I mean. I'm not," Wally says, looking down at his hands in his lap.    
  
"Thanks. Really."   
  
Wally nods, "So uh, how do you plan on telling Batman?"    
  
"I...I have a letter written out. Problem is, I wrote it ages ago and still haven't given it to him."   
  
Barbara sits up on the arm of the couch next to Dick, "He's gonna try give it to him tonight on patrol."   
  
"Are you going to be nearby? I mean just in case he...doesn't take it well," Wally asks her. He remembers how awful it was when his dad found out. If it weren't for his accelerated healing he'd probably have scars from it. Wally would never wish that on Dick.    
  
"He's not going to react that badly, I'm sure of it, but it's just...really awkward," Dick says.    
  
Barbara looks at the time on her watch, "Better get going. I've got to get back home for dinner at seven."   
  
Donna offers to fly her home. Dick decides to stay a little longer, seeing as it's his birthday party. He gives her a hug to say goodbye. They start playing charades. Garth is the reigning champion.    
  
Wally's phone beeps on the fifth round while Lilith is trying to act out ' _ High School Musical 2.' _ He pulls it out from his pocket. It's a text from Iris, telling him to come home.    
  
"I gotta go, my aunt wants me back," Wally says, standing up. He's about to say goodbye and run out, then remembers Dick.   
  
"Hey, uh. Do you want me to drop you home on the way?"    
  
Dick nods, "Yeah, thanks"    
  
The others say goodbye and wish Dick luck in talking to Batman. Not long later, the two teenagers arrive at the front door of Wayne Manor. Dick slips off of Wally's back and takes the few steps up to the door.   
  
Wally knows he should tell him. Part of his brain is saying  _ yes, do it! _ However, a much louder part of his brain is reminding him of how badly his dad reacted. He can hear his dad calling him that horrible word.  _ No son of mine will be a fag. _   
  
"Wally.."   
  
"I should really get home. Bye," Wally says, running away and leaving Dick standing on the steps. It leaves a heavy feeling in Dick's chest. Alfred opens the front door a moment later.   
  
"Ah, Master Dick. How were your birthday celebrations?"    
  
Dick nods and steps in the door. He doesn't meet Alfred's eyes, "Fine."   
  
"Fine?" Alfred repeats, shutting the door.    
  
"I'm...going to my room," Dick tells him.   
  
Alfred watches the teenager trudge upstairs. He then makes his way towards the kitchen. M&M cookies are in order, it seems.    
  
Dick flops down onto his bed, face first. Wally said he didn't care, but clearly he does. This is what Dick was most afraid of. He doesn't want things to change between them.    
  
Dick rolls off of the bed and goes over to his bookshelf. He pulls out the letter he had written for Bruce, hidden in his beaten paperback copy of Robin Hood. He's really not in the mood to tell anyone else right now. He considers tearing it up. Burning it, maybe.    
  
Dick sits on his bed and tosses the letter onto the sheets. The lump that has been forming in his throat since he got home is bordering on painful. It makes sense that Wally would feel uncomfortable around him. His dad was homophobic, Wally probably is too, to a degree. Dick has heard him say 'no homo.'   
  
Dick wishes he could have just kept quiet. But he couldn't. It was too much a part of him to keep so hidden.    
  
He happens to glance at the 'Flying Graysons' poster framed on his wall.    
  
What would his parents have thought about his sexuality? Would they have accepted him? Would they have been disgusted that their only child isn't straight? He has no idea. He'll never know.    
  
When he was younger and more oblivious, he wouldn't have noticed what their opinions on such things were. Dick didn't even know what the word gay meant until he was eleven. Some of the settled kids would call him gay or queer in towns the circus visited, particularly in the South and Midwest, when they saw him in his colourful leotard. He recalls his mama shooing them off with a frown. Those kids probably didn't know what it meant either.   
  
His eyes sting. He realises tears are slipping down his face. It's not often anymore that he cries when thinking about his parents. It's been seven years. However, It hurts more on days like today, his birthday. Christmas is hard too. The anniversary of their death is the worst.    
  
He wipes his eyes with the sleeve of his blue hoodie and sniffs. Dick stands up and pulls the hood over his head. He sneaks downstairs, careful not to be seen by Alfred, who is luckily busy in the kitchen. Dick moves the hands on the grandfather clock, revealing the entrance to the Batcave.    
  
Bruce isn't back yet. A long board meeting at Wayne E. Dick revs up his bike and speeds out of the cave.    
  
\---------------   
  
Wally arrives back at his aunt's house with a breath of relief. He feels awful for running away from Dick like that - on his birthday no less. He doesn't know why he did it. Was he afraid that Dick was going to say something he didn't want to hear?   
  
Wally walks into the kitchen, where his aunt is sitting at the table. When she sees him she stops typing and closes her laptop.    
  
"Sit down. We need to talk."   
  
With slight reluctance, Wally pulls out a chair and sits down.   
  
"How was the party?"   
  
"It was fine. Uh, Roy brought beer though."   
  
"Did you have any?"    
  
Wally glances to the side, "I might have had...one or two cans."   
  
Iris sighs, "I suppose I can't really be mad. Doesn't have any affect on you anyway. Dick didn't have any, did he?"   
  
"No, no. Only, Roy, Donna and myself were drinking. Donna has a high tolerance and Roy is just...Roy."   
  
Iris nods, "Okay. Let's cut to the chase," she laces her fingers together and looks him straight in the eyes, "When were you going to tell me that you are Frances are dating?"   
  
Wally swallows. She lacks the tone of excitement most female relatives would have upon learning this. For good reason. He doesn't know what to say. Wally looks down at the table and shrugs.   
  
"You know who told me?"   
  
"...Barry?"   
  
She nods. "Look, Wally. I can't pretend to understand what you're going through. I don't know who you're trying to prove yourself to. Your friends, Barry, yourself? But don't you think it's unfair to Frances? To lead her on?"   
  
Wally wants to deny the accusation that he's trying to prove he isn't gay, but he can't. Iris has him nailed.    
  
"You don't have to prove yourself to anyone Wally. There's nothing wrong with being different."   
  
"Tell that to my dad. Or the kids at school," he mutters.   
  
Iris gives him a sympathetic look, "I'm not telling you to come out publicly. I know that wouldn't be the safest idea. But isn't there someone else you can tell? Someone you can trust? It might be easier if I'm not the only person you can talk to."   
  
Wally's mind goes immediately to Dick. He trusts Wally to know that he's bisexual, shouldn't Wally trust him in return? He does trust Dick, more than most people, but he doesn't know if he can tell him this. Wally doesn't want things to be awkward between them.    
  
He could tell Frances. It might make the inevitable breaking up with her easier. She's from Wally's hometown and always complains to others about how conservative it was. It's a little easier to talk to girls about feelings than other guys and he does trust her. They can go back to being friends, right?   
  
"Maybe."   
  
Iris smiles, "No matter what other people say, know that I always have your back, okay?"   
  
Wally nods. A moment later they hear the front door open, signalling Barry's arrival home. Late as usual. Wally lets out a deep breath. Barry walks in with a smile on his face.   
  
"Sorry I'm late."    
  
"Again." Wally adds. Barry ruffles his nephew's red hair.   
  
"How was the party?" He asks, taking a seat at the kitchen table. Barry grabs an apple from the fruit bowl.    
  
"It was good, yeah. Roy brought beer," Wally casually mentions.    
  
Barry's eyebrows raise, "Dick wasn't drinking, was he?"   
  
"No, course not."   
  
"Thank god. He's a sensible kid."   
  
"And I'm not?" Wally scoffs.   
  
"You're a special case," Barry says.    
  
Wally shrugs, "Drinking isn't as fun if you don't get a buzz. It just looks cool."   
  
Barry sighs, "I feel you."   
  
"I won't have to deal with whiny hungover boys in this house," Iris says with delight.   
  
"There's always ethanol jet fuel, that works," Barry suggests. Wally and Iris give him horrified looks, "Hal gave me some. It tastes awful, but does the trick."   
  
"Uncle Hal is crazy," Wally says, shaking his head.   
  
\----------   
  
Dick arrives at the old amusement mile. He parks his bike and easily climbs over the wire fence, ignoring the 'do not trespass' and 'danger' signs. There's nobody there to see him do it.   
  
He makes his way through the abandoned fairgrounds to a large open area, where the circus tent always set up when Haley's was in town. Gotham was always one of Dick's favourite places to stop as a kid. The most dangerous tricks with the highest stakes were saved for this city. It was always so exciting.    
  
He sits down on the ground and pulls his knees up to the chest, not caring that it's all dusty. That excitement was quenched when there was no safety net to catch his parents.    
  
Dick sits there for a while. He's not sure how long, but the sun starts setting. It casts a golden glow over everything, like a scene in a movie.   
  
"I figured I'd find you here," He hears Wally's voice behind him, "You always come here when you're upset."   
  
"Fuck off," Dick hisses, voice cracking in an embarrassing way. He feels angry and sad all at once. He once again wipes his eyes with his sleeve, then tightens the strings on his hoodie in an attempt to cover his face more.    
  
"I wanted to say sorry. I feel shit for running away earlier," Wally apologises. He didn't realise just how much it would affect his friend.   
  
"It was pretty shit, yeah."   
  
Wally sits down next to Dick, but leaves some space between them. They both notice it.    
  
"If you feel uncomfortable around me knowing I like guys, just say so," Dick spits out, "I knew this would happen after I came out to I don't know why I'm so hung up over it."   
  
"Sorry," Wally says, looking at his hands.    
  
"I was also wondering how my parents would have reacted," Dick manages to say. Words aren't coming easily, "I'll never know.”   
  
"It could be for the best," Wally says. Now wouldn't be a good time to tell him that his parents kicked him out for being gay. He doesn't need that.    
  
"People always gossiped about me being gay or queer. I know they did. Before I even knew what it meant. It feels awful knowing they were right, you know?"   
  
Wally nods, "How...how do you cope with it all?"   
  
Dick shrugs, "I don't know. Bruce gets the whole orphan thing I guess. I talk to Babs and Donna about guys. I talk to you about everything else."   
  
Dick turns to look at him for the first time since he's got here. The redness of his eyes somehow makes the blue even bluer under his long eyelashes. The fading light from the sun setting emphasises his naturally tanned skin. His black hair sticks out a little from under the hoodie.    
  
Wally catches his breath. Dick is still a little baby-faced, but less so. Dick's glow up is going to legendary and it causes Wally more than a little concern. Dick is going to get hot and Wally is going to be so fucked.    
  
"I think I'm going to break up with Frances," He blurts out.    
  
"What? Why?" Dick's voice sounds shocked and disappointed but his mind is jumping for joy. It shouldn't, but it is. He's supposed to be getting over Wally, damnit.    
  
"I think we were better as friends."   
  
"But..you guys went all the way."   
  
"I don't think either of us enjoyed it all that much," Wally admits, "I mean, Frances is great and all but I don't think she's the one for me."   
  
"Oh," Wally hadn't been overly keen to share the details of losing his virginity with him.    
  
There's quiet for a few moments. The two boys stare across the fairgrounds. Dick just figured that Wally didn't want to corrupt his younger friend.    
  
"So uh, who's the guy that Roy is convinced you like?"   
  
"Why do you wanna know?" Dick tugs the strings on his hoodie just a bit more. It might hide his red cheeks.    
  
"Because as your best friend I should know this sort of thing," Wally says with a smile, nudging Dick's shoulder, "So..?"   
  
"Uh..."   
  
"Oh my god it's not  _ Roy _ , is it?"   
  
"NO! No, it's not Roy. Jeez could you imagine that conversation with Bruce?  _ I like boys and the boy I like is Roy Harper _ . He would have an aneurysm!" Dick scoffs.   
  
Wally laughs, "Yeah. You're right. Do I know the guy?"   
  
"Uh," Dick has to think of someone else. He can't tell Wally that it's him, for obvious reasons. Someone Wally doesn't know very well, but sounds believable.    
  
He thinks of Jack, from gymnastics. He got upgraded to team captain when the previous captain, Sarah, graduated. Dick is now co-captain.    
  
"You know the guy from my school gymnastics team? Jack?"   
  
Wally nods. He goes to Dick's gymnastics contests whenever he can, "The English guy, right?"   
  
"Yeah. He's a senior though. And straight, obviously. So I have no chance whatsoever."   
  
"I can see why you like him. Even though I don't like guys. You guys have stuff in common. He's got an accent. He's handsome. I guess," Wally says. It's dangerous territory 'gossiping' about boys but he's never been able to before and he can't resist. Wally wants to know everything.   
  
"You know how usually when rich kids fuck up here they get sent to boarding school in Europe? He's like the opposite of that," Dick tells him.   
  
"What did he do?"   
  
"He said he was 'snogging' some girl he shouldn't have. Whatever that means. He TPed and egged his principal's house on Halloween. But want to know the craziest thing he did?"   
  
Wally nods eagerly and Dick continues, "He got some piglets, labeled them one, two, four and five and then let them loose in the school. They were searching for the non-existent third piglet for hours."   
  
"That's a pretty amazing prank. So you like bad boys then?" Wally teases, "Pretty ironic, you being a superhero and all."    
  
Dick laughs and shakes his head.   
  
"Nah. He's changed his ways. Jack says the other seniors invited him to do crack last week and he turned them down because he wanted to focus on his gymnastics."   
  
"Have you given up on Barbara?"   
  
"No. Barbara is amazing. Also, I might actually have a chance. I've got a plan to win her over," Dick tells him with a grin, "Got tickets to see ' _ Mamma Mia!: The Musical' _ for her birthday. But it's a surprise, so don't tell her."   
  
Aunt Iris absolutely loves Mamma Mia. ABBA songs in general. So does his best friend. Dick sings them with her sometimes when he's over. Wally is also sworn to secrecy about that.   
  
"I won't. So, is Alfred making anything special for your birthday?"   
  
"Probably. Wanna find out?"   
  
Wally nods. He gets off the ground and offers Dick a hand up. They walk out of the amusement mile together.    
  
Even after giving Dick a ten minute head start on his bike, Wally still beats him to the batcave. However, he needs Dick to get in, so they enter the cave together.    
  
Bruce is there waiting for his ward. He makes his way to the platform where Dick has parked his bike. Dick's face falls. Bruce is holding a folded piece of paper in his right hand. Wally also spots it and quickly realises what it is.   
  
Bruce looks between the two boys, "Wally, can I speak to Dick? Alone?"   
  
It's supposed to be a question, but it sounds more like a command. The speedster looks at his friend with concern.    
  
"Why don't you go see what Alfred is doing upstairs?" Dick quietly suggests. His voice is a little shaky.    
  
Reluctantly, Wally leaves. He makes a point of walking and turning his head back several times. Once he's gone, Bruce holds up the piece of paper.   
  
"I was looking for you. I found this on your bed. I wasn't going to read it initially, but it was addressed to me."    
  
Dick leans back onto his bike. This isn't really a standing up kind of conversation.    
  
"Feelings like this are...very common at your age. There's..a lot of confusion-"   
  
Oh my god.    
  
"Unbelievable," Dick shakes his head, "You think it's just some 'teenage phase' that I'll grow out of."   
  
Bruce says nothing.   
  
"Would you believe me more if I told you I was just gay? One or the other? Are my feelings invalid just because I like both?" Dick can feel his face heating up. He clenches his fists. Bruce is emotionless as he shouts at him, "I'm not fucking  _ confused _ !"   
  
"Language."   
  
"I don't care! You have no idea what it's like, Bruce! The homophobic comments and slurs I hear daily at school. The fear that my friends wouldn't accept me. Catwoman is bisexual, told me so herself. Do you think she's just going through a phase too?"   
  
"Dick."   
  
"What?" Dick hisses. It takes everything he has to not storm off.   
  
"You're right. I don't know what it's like," Bruce says, "I...I'm sorry."   
  
"You have no idea what it's like to fall for someone and know that they'll never feel the same. It's painful, Bruce," Dick says. His voice cracks a little. He stares at the steps Wally had disappeared up.    
  
"...Wally?"   
  
"I'm...forcing myself to get over him. It's hard. It hurts."   
  
Bruce's face softens a little. Unnoticeable unless you knew him well, "Have you told anyone else?"   
  
"Up until today only Donna and Barbara knew. I came out to the rest of the Titans earlier."   
  
"I...wouldn't recommend telling other people at school."   
  
"I'm not stupid Bruce. People are bad enough just spreading rumours that I'm gay, imagine if I actually confirmed my queerness."   
  
"I'm sorry. I don't really know what to say to you," Bruce says stiffly. Dick looks down at his converse. "Do...do you want a hug?"   
  
The teenager looks up at him sceptically, "Seriously?"   
  
Bruce hold out his arms, "Come on. Before I change my mind."   
  
Wally walks back down the steps into the batcave with Alfred, carrying a tray of m&m cookies for him. The butler is carrying the t-pot and cups. Wally almost stops when he sees Dick hugging Bruce. His best friend looks even shorter next to the tall man. He hears the Bruce say, "It's okay, chum. Happy Birthday."   
  
Wally is glad that Bruce is being accepting, of course he is. Dick deserves it, but Wally can't help but feel a little jealous. He wishes that his dad hugged him when he found out instead of hitting him. He wishes he could have just talked to his dad.    
  
Dick steps back from Bruce with a little smile. He spots Wally with the cookies and grins. He makes his way over and asks, "Are those M&M cookies?"   
  
"Yup," Wally says. Dick takes one from the tray and bites into it. He hums. Delicious as always. Only the best from Alfred.   
  
"I take it things went well?" Wally asks quietly, glancing at Bruce, who is getting some tea from Alfred.   
  
"It was okay, yeah. A bit of shouting, but only on my part," Dick replies. Wally nods and takes another cookie for himself.    
  
They end up gathered around the batcomputer eating cookies. Bruce of course, sits on his chair. The boys have to settle for the floor. Wally tells Dick that he really needs to get his own fancy computer chair.    
  
Dick catches up with Barbara on patrol after Wally leaves. Bruce keeps out of earshot, but makes sure they're in his line of sight. He tells her all the details. Well, he leaves out the fact that he was crying earlier. Most of the details.    
  
"I'm so happy for you," Barbara says, pulling him into a hug. They're about equal in height now. Dick finds he misses her being taller than him just a little.   
  
To his surprise, she kisses him on the cheek, "Happy Birthday, Boy Wonder."   
  
He smiles and hopes his face isn't bright red. It is.    
  
\----------------   
  
Wally stands up from the park bench. Frances is sitting on it with a look of anticipation. There's not many people around, just the odd cyclist passing by.    
  
"Well? You've been wanting to talk to me all day, here's your chance," she says.    
  
Wally is nerve-wracked. He's pacing back and forth, "Just. Just give me a sec, okay? I've never properly told anyone this."   
  
He takes a deep breath, "You're probably not going to like this, but I'm..I'm.."   
  
God damnit he can't even say the word.   
  
"You're Kid Flash? Not surprised. The hair is a dead giveaway."   
  
" _ Nooooo. _ No. I'm not. I uh. I'm. Why can't I say it? I. I'm...." he whispers it, ".. _ gay _ ."   
  
Frances soaks in the information. While he waits for her reply, Wally desperately wants to run away to Europe and never come back. It feels to him like decades have passed before she talks.   
  
"Oh. Well that's not surprising either, really."   
  
"It's..it's not?" Wally asks with concern. Is he not good at hiding it?   
  
"No. C'mon, Wally. I've known you for years. At Homecoming last year you suddenly wanted to dance with me out of the blue, and I think it was because your cool rich friend was there."   
  
Wally sits back down, "Dick? No, it had nothing to do with him. I...I guess I just wanted to feel normal. I never wanted to be..you know. I'd give anything to be straight."   
  
There's tears building up in his eyes. Frances reaches into her bag and pulls out a tissue.   
  
"Here. Look, I know you didn't enjoy having sex with me very much. I thought there was something wrong with me. But it's reassuring to know that it's not just me you don't like, but girls in general."   
  
Wally wipes his eyes, "You don't hate me?"   
  
"No. Of course not," she wraps her arms around him in a hug, "Thanks for telling me."   
  
Wally sniffs, "I don't think I'll be telling anyone else for a while. It's fucking stressful."   
  
Frances laughs, "I've got a gay best friend now."   
  
"Ha ha."   
  
\--------------------   
  
Wally passes the bag of Cheetos. Dick grabs a fistful. They're sitting on the couch in the Teen Titans' hangout and finally getting around to watching Footloose. Roy is sitting on the other couch, with Donna lying across his lap reading some magazine. She occasionally points stuff out to him.    
  
"C'mon, tell me how last night went," Wally says.   
  
"Slow down, man. I have to tell you how I asked her out first," Dick replies.   
  
Donna perks up, blue eyes sparkling, "Oh! This is about Barbara, isn't it?"    
  
Dick nods, "Okay, so on Wednesday I walked into the school library - she volunteers in there - and I strolled up to the front desk after grabbing a copy of Robin Hood. She didn't look up from the computer at first and just asked 'how can I help you?' I put the book on the desk and said, 'I'd like to borrow a book. I'd also like to borrow you for Friday evening,' you know, all smooth like."   
  
"Dude!" Wally says, giving him a light punch on the arm.    
  
"She glanced at the book and said, 'Robin Hood? Seriously?' Then she looked up at me, just in time to see me pull out the Mamma Mia tickets."   
  
"Mamma Mia tickets? As in for the musical?" Donna asks, "Aw, I'd love to go see it."   
  
She makes a point of looking up at Roy, who groans, "I physically cannot deal with any more ABBA songs."   
  
Donna encourages Dick to continue telling his story, "She was really surprised. Stood up and hugged me over the desk. I picked her up on Friday evening, took her out for dinner, then to the musical. It was awesome."   
  
"Did you..you know?" Roy asks suggestively.   
  
"No. I dropped her home on time."   
  
"Ugh. C'mon, Grayson, you're so boring."   
  
"Her dad doesn't like me! I have to stay on his good side. I want to wait for the right moment, you know?"   
  
"Did you kiss?" Donna asks in excitement.   
  
"Nope. Her dad opened the door before I got the chance to," Dick says sadly.   
  
"Next time," Wally pats Dick on the shoulder.   
  
\-----------------   
  
"So? Did you ask?" Wally inquires, leaning over the back of the couch. His uncle has just gotten home from a Justice League meeting. Iris is out researching a story.    
  
"I did. Apparently Robin is just busy with schoolwork."   
  
Wally shakes his head, "Bull. Something has happened and Batman doesn't want to admit it."   
  
Barry nods, walking around the couch and sitting next to his nephew. Wally hasn't heard from his best friend in over three weeks and is concerned, "I think you might be right."   
  
"He hasn't been seen around Gotham as Robin or Dick Grayson."   
  
"Did you ask Batgirl?"    
  
"No. I know who she is, but I don't know where she lives," Wally says, then has a horrible thought, "Oh god what if..."   
  
"What?"   
  
Wally swallows, "What if someone beat him up for liking guys and he's injured?"   
  
Barry looks at him. Wally can almost see the gears turning behind his blue eyes, "Robin's gay?"   
  
Wally feels that familiar increase in his heart rate that he usually gets whenever he hears that word or something more foul that has the same meaning.   
  
"No, he's...bisexual."   
  
"Oh. I didn't know that."   
  
_ There's a lot more you don't know _ , Wally thinks.   
  
"Although, I can't say I'm surprised," Barry adds.    
  
"What...do you mean?"   
  
"Well, Iris reckons that he likes you. Or used to, anyway. You said he likes Batgirl, right?"    
  
Wally faces away from Barry and sinks into the couch.  _ What _ ?    
  
"Earth to Wally?" his uncle waves his hand across Wally's face.   
  
"Uh, yeah. He likes Batgirl. Talks about her a lot. Goes to her ballet recitals. Says she smells nice. Like mangos. Or was it peaches? I don't know," Wally stands up, "I just remembered a school thing I have to work on. I should go do that."   
  
Barry opens his mouth. Wally is upstairs before he manages to get a sound out. He sighs.   
  
Wally lies on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn't bother turning on the light. The glow in the dark stars are still up there. Barry had helped him arrange them into actual constellations, back when Wally just knew him as Iris's boring boyfriend.    
  
He remembers Dick staying over one time. They were probably twelve and thirteen. The two of them had slept in sleeping bags on the floor because they thought it was unfair for one person to get the bed.    
  
Dick was jealous of the stars. Alfred wouldn't let him put them on his bedroom ceiling in Wayne Manor. Instead, Dick stuck some in the Batcave. Wally smiles at the thought.   
  
He looks back at the memories they'd shared. Their deepest conversations. All the tiny, seemingly insignificant things they remembered about each other.    
  
Dick hated peanut butter, but would always get Reeses cups for him. Dick has a ridiculous sweet tooth. Even without a speedster metabolism, he somehow stays skinny. Although, lean is probably the word to describe him now.    
  
Wally always remembers the anniversary of Dick's parents dying. He collects funny videos to send to him in an effort to cheer him up on that day.   
  
He knows where Dick goes when he's sad. Dick knows where Wally runs off to when he's upset, even if he can't follow him as easily. He knows Dick's body language, the face he makes when he's thinking hard.    
  
Wally put up with Dick when he went through his 'vinyl record only' phase. Dick always ruins Scooby Doo, pointing out the plot holes and how 'the groundskeeper couldn't possibly have done it.' Wally tries to go to Dick's gymnastics events as much as possible. He feels so proud watching him do his routines. Dick looks so graceful. Wally proudly points him out as his best friend to to the other spectators.   
  
Dick is one of the few people Wally willingly shares food with. They play video games together. He lets Dick win sometimes, even though with his fast reflexes Wally is often much better.    
  
Dick always ruffles Wally's ginger hair, even if he has to reach up to do it. Not just because it reminds him of Barbara, Wally realises, but because he likes his hair too. Dick likes gingers. Including ginger guys.    
  
All of this had rushed into his mind in nanoseconds. Wally sits up suddenly.    
  
"Fuck," he whispers.    
  
He likes his best friend. In a like-like way. But he can't. He knows he can't. Wally won't allow himself. Not after the last boy he had feelings for.    
  
If Dick ever did like him, Wally was clearly too stupid to see it while it was still there. It's just typical, isn't it? Guys like him don't get happy endings. Not even in the movies.   
  
He hears Iris arrive home. Wally takes a few minutes to compose himself, before walking downstairs to meet her. He pauses halfway when he hears his aunt and uncle talking. Wally sits on the step and listens, quickly realising the conversation is about him.   
  
"I did talk to him. He just so happened to tell me that Dick is bisexual. I mentioned that you thought Dick had a crush on him. He got kind of stiff and awkward. Went upstairs pretty quick after that."   
  
Iris sighs, "Barry, I love you, but you're an idiot. Why would you bring that up?"   
  
"I don't know, it just came out of my mouth. I get the feeling you know something I don't. And that you've known for a long time," Barry says. His words make Wally's heart beat faster.    
  
"I do. But it's not for me to tell. It's Wally's secret," Iris says. Wally hears her pull out a chair in the kitchen and sit down. There's silence for a few seconds.    
  
"Oh my god," Barry says, "He's gay, isn't he?"   
  
"You know I can't an-"   
  
Wally runs. Barry and Iris jump at the sound of the door slamming.    
  
Wally isn't sure where he's going to. His feet just seem to carry him. When he stops running, he's surprised to find himself at Gotham. The old amusement mile. The place Dick goes when he's upset. It's been a few months since he found him here on his birthday. The sun has already set this time.    
  
Dick. He's so worried about him. Why hasn't he called? Or texted? Is he hurt? Does he just not have time for him anymore?    
  
Barry knows that he's gay. He can't hide it from him anymore. Iris didn't mean for him to find out, but he still feels a little betrayed. Barry won't want a gay sidekick. Or nephew. He'll be abandoned again.    
  
He feels a lump in his throat and an ache in his chest, like there's a hole in it. All the feelings he had pushed away for so  _ damn long _ are coming back.    
  
Wally drops to his knees. He lets out a choked sob.    
  
He doesn't register the sound of feet running towards him and a bike helmet dropping to the ground. Wally feels a hand on his shoulder. He almost flinches away, then looks up and see familiar blue irises. Dick's eyes are also bloodshot, like he's been crying too. They dart around as he says Wally's name over and over.   
  
Wally grabs Dick and pulls him into a hug. Dick reciprocates. They're both shaking slightly.    
  
"You're okay," Wally chokes out.   
  
"Yeah. Physically, anyway. Emotionally not so much," Dick says. It's supposed to be a joke, but it just sounds sad.    
  
Dick pulls away, "Are you okay?"   
  
"Physically," Wally replies, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.    
  
"What are you doing here?" Dick asks, offering him a handkerchief. Wally's not in the mood to think about how old fashioned that is. He takes it and wipes his eyes.   
  
"I don't know. This is your brooding spot, not mine."   
  
"I'm sorry for not telling you where I was," Dick says, "I didn't mean to worry you so much."   
  
"It's a lot of things, you disappearing is a factor though. What happened?"    
  
Dick sits next to Wally.    
  
"I...had a massive fight with Bruce. I was just sick of being treated like a child, you know? I ran away. Got a job. Met an older girl. I thought she was great. I really liked her. I thought she liked me too," He explains. Wally listens intently, "We had sex. More than once. Then one night, I realised she was going straight into another guy's bed. She was just using me to gain access to W.E."   
  
Dick sounds so heartbroken.    
  
"That's...really shit."   
  
"She ruined my first time. I'm never going to get that back," Dick stares at the ground, eyebrows furrowed, "Why couldn't I just wait for Babs?"   
  
"It's not that big of a deal, losing your virginity," Wally says.   
  
"It was to me!" Dick snaps, turning his head to Wally. His voice cracks a little on the last word.    
  
Wally nods, "...I know. I'm sorry."   
  
The world slows down around Wally. It's only been a few weeks, yet somehow Dick looks older. Taller. His jawline even more defined. Dick's shoulders look a bit broader too. It's true, what Iris says about boys shooting up overnight like beanstalks. Wally did it himself.   
  
Dick looks so handsome. How is it possible that all of his features are just perfect? His blue eyes, his long dark lashes, his sallow skin. His silky raven hair. His lips.    
  
Wally's body seems to move faster than his brain, because he finds himself pressing his own lips to Dick's. He cups his face. Dick, after the initial shock, kisses back and runs his fingers through Wally's hair. It lasts a few short seconds, but to Wally it feels like an eternity.   
  



	4. Baker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Your readers are gonna hate you" - friend looking over my shoulder while I wrote this.
> 
> I'm so sorry lads, please forgive me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: F and Q slur.

Wally pulls back and slowly opens his eyes. Dick does the same. They're both staring at each other. Wally's hand is still on Dick's cheek. He watches in slow motion as Dick's flustered face changes into one of confusion.   
  
Wally jolts back into real time and puts his hand over his own mouth. _What has he done?!_  
  
He's on his feet faster than Dick's eyes can register. Wally takes a step back and blurts out, "No. I. I can't. I'm not - that never happened, okay?"  
  
"Wally!" Dick yells, but his best friend is gone with a flicker of lightning.  
  
Dick can't believe what just happened. A boy kissed him. _Wally_ _kissed him_. Dick puts his fingers to his lips. They're still tingling from the contact.  
  
His confusion turns to anger. Wally ran away. He might as well have shouted 'no homo.' How could he do something like this? Wally knows he likes Barbara. It's not fair. Wally can just write this off as a stupid thing he did as a teenager and forget about it. How can Dick just forget about it?  
  
Dick kicks some old sign so hard it smashes. First Liu using him and now Wally pulling that?  
  
He closes his eyes. _Oh god, Dick kissed him back_. How is he supposed to explain that to Barbara? How is he going to explain Liu to her? It's so stereotypical, isn't it? Bisexuals being unfaithful. Dick doesn't want to fall into that stereotype. Does it count as cheating if they were never officially together?   
  
The tears are building in his eyes again.  
  
\----------------------  
  
Wally bursts into the cave, making Donna jump.  
  
"Wally! Some warning would be nice. I almost spilled my popcorn."  
  
"I...can I stay here tonight?"  
  
She gives him a confused look, but nods, patting the couch next to her.  
  
"Sure. Why?"  
  
"I just...need a break, that's all," Wally says, flopping on the couch.  
  
Donna doesn't look completely sold on the answer, but knows that Wally isn't going to talk about it. At least, not without some pressing. Maybe with a certain golden lasso. He does confide in her sometimes, but not as often as Dick does. Wally used to flirt with her a bit in the early days, but it died down.   
  
"If you do wanna talk. I'm all ears. Always am."  
  
Wally shakes his head, "I just want to forget about it."  
  
Donna nods. They both stare at the tv for a minute or two. _'Shrek 2'_ is on. Wally can't even bring himself to laugh at the fucked-up fairytale shenanigans. Donna quietly passes him the bowl of popcorn.   
  
"Have you heard from Dick? I'm worried," she asks, "He's like my brother. He's probably like the same to you."  
  
Wally swallows, even though there's nothing in his mouth. _Brother probably isn't the word he'd use himself._   
  
"Yeah. He'll probably want to talk to you about it himself," Wally passes back the bowl and pulls his knees up to his chest.  
  
"Thank Hera. But...you haven't touched the popcorn. Are you sick?" she asks, then puts her palm to his forehead.   
  
Wally moves her hand away and shakes his head, "Speedsters don't get sick. You know that. I'm not hungry," he can still feel the lingering feeling of the kiss on his lips. As much as he regrets it, he's not eager to rid himself of the touch yet.   
  
"You're _always_ hungry. Did...something happen at home?"  
  
Wally nods, "Yeah, but I...I can't talk about it because I'd have to tell you something else for it to make any sense and I'm really not ready to tell anyone that right now."  
  
"I'm really good at keeping secrets. For example....I knew Dick was bisexual long before the rest of you did. I didn't really get why it was such a big deal, but I knew it was to him, so I stayed quiet."   
  
Donna is giving him a somewhat knowing look that he doesn't like one bit. The example she used is also not to his liking.  
  
"I'm really tired. I'm going to grab one of the sleeping bags and call it a night," Wally says, standing up from the couch to get one.  
  
"Okay. Night," Donna says. It's not even very late. She checks the time. 9:30pm. Wally is acting weird and she knows it has something to do with his family. Quite possibly Dick, too. It annoys her, not knowing, but Donna figures she'll be told what's going on soon.  
  
Sure enough, Dick calls her in the morning, asking if she can meet him. They arrange a time and place.   
  
Wally is lying on the couch in a bit of a sulk, flicking through channels. He's been moping around all morning. She doesn't mind much though. Donna wants nothing more than to look out for her friends, and if one of the boys needs somewhere to mope, she'll facilitate (and try to figure out why they're moping).  
  
"I'm heading out, okay? There's food in the fridge if you want to make a sandwich. Or five," she says, patting him on the head.  
  
Wally looks up at her with confusion, "Where are you going? You're not still seeing Roy, are you?"  
  
_After we found out he's a heroin junkie_. Wally didn't say it, but judging by his tone, it was implied.  
  
Donna shakes her head and sighs, "No. Not Roy. But I worry about him. I'm meeting up with Lilith for coffee."  
  
"Oh right. Girl thing."  
  
Donna nods. She feels kind of bad for lying, but something tells her that Wally doesn't want to hear Dick's name right now.   
  
She arrives in a café in Gotham called Mahtog. Gotham spelled backwards. It's urban looking, with exposed red brick walls and polished metal piping, also exposed. A few green potted plants dotted around. There's stunning black and white photographs of the city framed on the walls. She admires the photos while looking around for her best friend.  
  
Donna spots him sitting by himself in a booth, with a cup of coffee. He's dumping a packet of sugar into it. There's already a few empty packets on the table. That's something Dick and Wally have in common - very sugary coffee. He looks tired, like he has slept even less than he usually does. Probably spent hours lying in bed overthinking.   
  
When Dick sees her come over he stands up to pull her into a hug.  
  
"Where were you, Mister? Off brooding somewhere?" Donna jokes, in an effort to lighten the mood.  
  
He laughs weakly and lets go of her. They both sit down, "Sort of...I've got a lot to tell you."  
  
"And tell me you will. I want to know," Donna says, taking her bag off of her shoulder and setting it down on the seat next to her. She pulls out her purse, "But first, I need coffee. Can you mind my stuff please?"  
  
He nods, "It's safe with me."  
  
Donna comes back with her coffee and a chocolate muffin two minutes later, "I love the decor in this place. It's like I haven't left New York at all. The photographs are fantastic."  
  
"I knew you'd like it. It's one of the popular hangouts for GA students. I just hope none of them decide to come in on a Sunday morning," Dick says, aimlessly stirring his coffee. His hair is even more ruffled than usual.  
  
"People go to church on Sunday mornings, right?" she asks, cutting the muffin in half.  
  
Donna believes in Ancient Greek deities, of course. She's discovered that it's not considered very popular. People have called Diana and herself pagans on many occasions, like it was a horrible thing to be. Lots of people get accused of being pagans, even if they don't believe in anything.   
  
"Christians do, yeah. My parents weren't very religious. Jews go to the synagogue on Saturdays. B's mom was Jewish, but I don't think he has much faith left in him."

 

She holds out half of the muffin to him. He refuses at first, but she convinces him to take it.  
  
Donna nods, "So, you were going to tell me where you were these last three weeks?"  
  
"I was, wasn't I? Where do I start?" Dick taps his fingers on the table. He keeps his voice low, even though the sounds of the café drown mask it anyway, "Well, I had an argument with Batman and ran away."  
  
"To the circus?" such a cliché, but with Dick? Very much possible.  
  
"I wanted to do that, but Haley's is over in Europe right now and I'm not exactly sure where. Germany, possibly Austria."  
  
"What did Batman do?"  
  
"He was treating me like a child. I don't want to just be his sidekick you know? I want to be his partner. I left the city and he didn't bother to follow me. I guess it was his way of teaching me a lesson. I did learn a few things. I got a job. Found a group of runaway kids like me. Met an older girl. Liu. I thought she was amazing. Fell head over heels. We...had sex. A few times."  
  
He rubs his eyes with his hand. Donna is a bit taken aback.   
  
"You lost your virginity?"  
  
"Yeah. And it was great...until I found out that she was just using me to gain access to B's company and steal from it. I was heartbroken."  
  
"Oh, Dick," Donna says, reaching out across the table to hold his hand.   
  
"I stopped Liu and the others. I was pretty upset as you can imagine. So I went to my usual..." he searches the mind for the right words. Donna gives them to him.  
  
"Brooding spot?"  
  
"...Sure. I...found Wally there."   
  
Donna's eyebrows raise, "Oh. This was last night, yeah?"  
  
"Yeah. He was in a state of distress. Even though I had just been crying myself, I ran over to comfort him, being the good friend that I am. We talked a bit. He said something and I snapped at him. Next thing I knew, he-"  
  
Dick stops mid sentence and puts his knuckles to his mouth. He doesn't know if he can say it. If he should. But this is Donna he's talking to.   
  
"He...Wally. Wally kissed me."  
  
Donna stares at him. She doesn't say anything, she just blinks.   
  
"I know right? I'm so mad at him," Dick says, closing his fist around the handle of his mug.  
  
"Wait, what? You're mad at him? Why? You've wanted Wally to kiss you for years," Donna is so confused.   
  
"Because I gave up on Wally! I knew I'd never have a chance with him and I still don't. He told me to forget it ever happened and then ran away."   
  
To Donna. This is worse than she thought. Dick sounds so hurt. Wally does seem sorry about it though, "Can't you guys...talk it out?"  
  
Dick looks at her like she's insane.   
  
_Boys_ , she thinks, _are hopeless_.  
  
"Grayson!" Donna turns to see a girl about Dick's age walking towards them. Her natural dark brown hair is loose and she's wearing a Gotham Knights jersey over a pair of shorts. Donna has no idea who she is, but clearly Dick does.  
  
"Heather. Hi," Dick greets, perking up a little, "I don't think I've ever seen you with your hair down. Or not straightened. It's nice."  
  
"That's ‘cuz our school dress code is racist. They can't handle how fab my hair is," Heather says, sliding into the booth next to Dick. She looks across the table and grins, "Who might you be?"  
  
"Hi, I'm Donna, Dick's BFF," she says with a smile, offering out her hand. Heather shakes it.  
  
"Wow. Hi Donna, I'm gay."  
  
Donna giggles, not phased by Heather's attempt at flirting, "Cool. I'm guessing you go to Gotham Academy too?"  
  
Heather nods, "Yep," and then turns to Dick.  
  
"Dude. Where have you been? I mean, I know we didn't have school for two weeks, but where the hell were you last week when we did have school?" Heather asks. He takes a deep breath.  
  
"I had a fight with Bruce, ran away, got a job, lost my virginity to an older girl who turned out to just be using me, came back and then got kissed by my straight best friend, after which he told me to pretend it never happened and ran away," Dick explains, not looking the slightest bit amused.  
  
"Oh. Damn. What are you gonna tell Barbara?"  
  
"I was going to ask Donna but now you can also give me advice," Dick says, then puts his head down on the table, "I really fucked up."  
  
"Oh Honey, it's not all your fault," Donna says.   
  
Heather picks up Dick's now empty cup and pats his back with her other hand, "Let's get you some more coffee and we'll come up with something, okay?"  
  
\------------  
  
Wally eventually leaves the cave and finds himself aimlessly wandering around Metropolis with his self hating thoughts. He doesn't have enough energy to keep running. It somehow doesn't occur to him that he might bump into someone he knows.  
  
He walks straight into a tall man wearing a long coat and a hat, but it feels like he has walked into a brick wall.  
  
"Oh jeez, I'm so sorry, are you okay kiddo?" The man splutters in a Kansas accent, a bit unusual in Metropolis.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," Wally says, then tries to keep walking, but the man puts a firm hand on his shoulder. Wally glances up, confused and a little irritated. The man reaches up with his other hand and lowers his glasses, smiling.  
  
"Oh. It's you."  
  
"No _hello uncle Clark_? Are you sure you didn't bump into me too hard?"  
  
Wally shrugs.  
  
"You know what, I happen to have a pie in the oven. You're just the right person to help me eat it," Clark says. It's kinda hard to say no to him, because he's just so genuinely nice. Plus, food. So Wally ends up in Superman's apartment.   
  
He wasn't lying about the pie. Wally can smell it as soon as he walks in. Apple. Clark takes off his coat and hat, then hangs them on hooks by the door. He takes off his glasses, then seems to grow taller in front of Wally's eyes. Suddenly he's no longer Clark Kent, he's Superman.  
  
"Woah. How'd you do that?"  
  
"I compress my spine and adjust my posture to make myself appear smaller," Clark explains, then moves towards the kitchen, popping his glasses back on, "Take a seat. The pie is probably ready to come out now."  
  
Wally pulls out a chair at the table and sits down. He glances around the apartment. He's never been here before. It's amazing to him how neat and tidy it is for a single man who lives by himself. Then again, Clark was brought up on a farm in Kansas by possibly the nicest folks you could find (he hasn't met Ma and Pa Kent, but Barry has and he says they're lovely).   
  
There's also the fact that Clark isn't a regular human guy.  
  
The Kryptonian walks back in holding a steaming hot tin with a pie in it, fresh from the oven. He hasn't bothered with any oven gloves because there's no chance it'll burn him, but he probably has them for when normal people drop by.   
  
What strikes Wally is the apron he's wearing. It's designed to look like a woman's body in a red bikini. Wally can't help but snicker at it. Clark is a little red in the face.  
  
"It's not very appropriate for young eyes like yours, I'm sorry," he apologises, gesturing to the apron as if Wally wasn't seventeen, "It was a gift."  
  
Clark sets the pie down on a table mat, "We did Secret Santa at the Daily Planet last year. Lois got me. She thought the apron was funny, so I've taken up wearing it."  
  
To gain her favour, no doubt. Clark blows on the pie quickly, using his icy breath to cool it down enough for Wally to eat. He goes to get two plates and cuts the teenager a slice.   
  
"There you go. I haven't quite mastered Ma's recipe yet. I don't think I ever will, but it's as close as I can get."  
  
Wally nods, face already stuffed with pie. He swallows and says, "It's better than my aunt's attempts."  
  
"Thank you, Wally. Now, what's eating ya?"  
  
"You're...not able to read minds, are you?" Wally asks.  
  
"Nope, wrong alien. I'm a good listener though," Clark says with a smile, pointing to his left ear, "Superhearing."  
  
Wally looks at the pie. Damn it, this is a set up. He's being bribed with apple pie. Who the hell puts pie in the oven and then goes for a walk? Clark probably heard Wally's heartbeat and recognised it or something. He can do that.  
  
However, Wally finds himself speaking.  
  
"You...you won't tell, will you?"  
  
Clark mimes zipping his lips and throwing away the key, then makes the 'scout's honour' gesture. Wally worries that Clark's rural southern upbringing might also mean he's got...traditional views. Then again, Clark hardly has a bad word to say about anyone. He's a trustworthy guy, and without any sidekick of his own on the Teen Titans he's a neutral adult.  
  
"I...realised something yesterday. Feelings I guess I've had for a while, but sort of refused to address. Feelings...for Dick."  
  
Clark nods, processing this, then says, "That's great kiddo. I think once you get around the grumpy Batdad you could have a real chance there."  
  
"Uncle Clark, I don't think you understand. I'm not really finished..."  
  
Clark puts his hand up to his mouth and gasps, "I took that wrong didn't I? You didn't mean romantic feelings. I'm sorry."  
  
Wally shakes his head, not making eye contact, "No um, you heard me right. But...I'm really not comfortable with these...feelings."  
  
"Ah," Clark said, "Well, that's okay. It's not an easy thing to come to terms with, I suppose. You're from the Midwest, so I imagine it wasn't very accepting in your hometown. Coming from a small town myself, I know how hard it is to keep a secret knowing that people won't accept you for being who you are."  
  
"You're using the alien thing as a comparison," Wally points out.  
  
"Do you mind? I'm trying my best to relate."   
  
"It's okay, I guess. After I realised...that...I overheard my aunt and uncle talking. Uncle Barry...he found out that I'm...you know. I was scared and I ran out of the house."  
  
"What were you scared of?" Clark asks softly.  
  
"That...that he was gonna react like my dad did when he found out. Get mad at me. Hit me. Kick me out," Wally says, then wipes his eyes with the sleeve of the hoodie he's been wearing since yesterday. He hasn't gotten the chance to change his clothes. In a way he doesn't want to. They smell like Dick after their hug last night.  
  
But..they also kinda smell of his own BO.  
  
Clark speeds away and comes back with a box of tissues. Wally takes one.  
  
"I can assure you that will never happen. Barry adores you. You're the son he's never had. He talks about you all the time, even at JL meetings. He tells me about all your science projects and how good your grades are. He couldn't ask for a better nephew. Barry is so proud of you, Wally. You liking boys isn't going to change that."  
  
Wally sniffs, "My dad used to be proud of me too. Less so when I got powers. He thought I was a freak. Blamed Barry for it. Now he doesn't even want to see me."  
  
"You know, Barry is really worried about you. He was searching almost all night, until your aunt eventually convinced him to get some sleep. Told me to keep my eye out for you."  
  
"This _is_ a set up. I knew it."  
  
"Just a bit. I haven't told him I've found you yet. I figured you'd want a little time."  
  
"Thank you. Um...there's something else too. After I ran away last night, I found Dick, who recently came back from running away himself."  
  
Clark's face indicates that Dick running away is news to him. Apparently Batman is capable of lying to the guy who can hear people's heartbeats from miles away. Wally continues.  
  
"He hugged me because I was crying. We talked for a bit. He was upset too. Then...I made a mistake. I..." Wally takes a deep breath, "I kissed him."  
  
Clark's eyebrows raise, "You did? Did...did he not like it? Because that's what your face is telling me."  
  
"He kissed me back. But...I was scared and told him to forget it ever happened, then ran away from him too. I think he's mad at me."  
  
Clark sighs, reaching under his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose.  
  
"I know. But I can't Clark, I just can't. I'm not even comfortable with myself, there's no way I could think about dating another guy. The idea terrifies me. What people would say and think about me...I don't know if I'll ever be ready to do that. I had a girlfriend for a while, trying to convince myself that I could be normal. But it was useless," Wally says. Everything is just spilling out. Words are flowing out of his mouth like a waterfall. Clark just sits and listens, eating his pie.  
  
"Besides, Dick likes Batgirl. And...I guess I'm also kind of jealous of Dick, because he's more comfortable with himself than I am. I feel really bad for running away. I think I made things worse for him."  
  
"Did you at least apologise?" Clark asks.  
  
"I...I said sorry right before I ran away from him."  
  
Clark nods, "Well, it doesn't sound great. But it's something I suppose. Do you think you could talk to him about it?"  
  
Wally shakes his head.   
  
"Okay. But you know you'll have to at some point. Try not to leave it too long, but take the time you need. You guys have a great friendship. I don't want you two to loose that."  
  
"You know, you give really good advice, Uncle Clark. You don't happen to be behind the newspaper's Agony Aunt column, do you?"  
  
"Thank you. No, I'm not, I'm just a regular journalist, but there's an idea," Clark says with a smile, "Now, why don't you finish your pie, put something on the tv and then I'll call Barry."  
  
Wally nods.   
  
\-----------  
  
Barbara jumps when she hears the knock on her window. She looks up from the homework she's doing (usually she wouldn't leave homework for Sunday night, but she's been pretty stressed recently) to see The Boy Wonder hanging upside down outside. He waves.   
  
She glances towards her bedroom door, then gets up and opens the window. He quietly manoeuvres his way in and stands on the wood flooring.   
  
"Hi."  
  
Barbara pulls him into a hug, catching him off guard a little, "Where have you been?!" She whisper shouts, pulling back. She slaps his arm. "Three weeks! You had me worried sick you idiot!"  
  
"I deserve that. I...don't expect you to forgive me when I tell you what happened, but hear me out. Please?"  
  
She narrows her green eyes at him suspiciously, "What did you do?"  
  
Dick sits down on the window sill and peels off his black domino mask. It's easier to talk with the mask on, as it allows him to detach himself somewhat, but he feels that wouldn't be right in this situation.  
  
He tells his story and Barbara listens, soaking in the details and running over them in her brain. She doesn't speak until he's finished.   
  
"Why are you here?"  
  
"To beg for your forgiveness. I really like you, Babs. In the last few weeks I made mistakes, let people use me and I feel like shit. I'm not really sure if we were...official before but I'd really like to be, If you'll have me."  
  
Barbara considers for a few moments.  
  
"You're an idiot. But...you're a handsome idiot. I'm still mad at you, don't get me wrong, but I'd also like a word to put on...whatever this is."   
  
"So...are we official? Or-" Dick is cut off by her lips pressing against his and a hand cupping his cheek. After the initial awkward moment of trying to decide where to put his hands, he runs a hand through her hair and places the other on her waist.  
  
It's the second time he's been kissed in thirty-six hours. This one isn't as rushed. It's softer and more feminine. She's wearing some sort of lip balm. He tells himself he prefers this, when in actuality he liked Wally's kiss just as much - until it ended, anyway.   
  
They hear the sound of footsteps and jolt away from each other. The window has been closed and he doesn't have enough time to open it and climb out. Dick goes for the floor on the other side of the bed, then rolls under it. His heart is hammering from the thrill and the terror of it. He feels like he's in some teen movie, except because he's in his Robin costume, it's even more risky.  
  
Dick has hidden when there's a knock on the door. Jim Gordon pops his head in, "I thought I heard you talking to someone."  
  
"Nope. Just to myself," Babs says, leaning against the windowsill. Dick can see her legs from under the bed.   
  
"What's that?" Jim asks. Dick reaches up to his face. His mask. Is on the windowsill.   
  
"Oh, this? We're studying plays in English class at the moment. Doing a presentation. I was practicing my lines and using the mask to get in character," She explains.   
  
Babs is a genius. Dick prevents himself from breathing a loud sigh of relief.   
  
"Huh. Good luck with that."  
  
"Thanks, Dad."  
  
The door clicks shut again and Jim's footsteps disappear down the hallway.   
  
"Holy good excuses Batman," Dick comments, then rolls out from under the bed.  
  
"Oh god, please don't go back to _that_ catchphrase," Babs says, but giggles. She hands him his domino mask.  
  
"I should probably go before he comes back," Dick says, taking some more spirit gum out of his belt and putting it on the back of his mask.   
  
"Not gonna stay any longer?" she asks, then smirks. He blushes like the virgin he used to be.  
  
"Uh. Maybe, but some other night. Duty calls, Miss Gordon. Unless you want to come and join me in kicking ass?" he points a thumb towards the window.  
  
"I've got homework. I'll go out tomorrow night. See you at school?"  
  
Dick nods, "Night, Babs."  
  
He kisses her on the cheek, then puts on his domino mask. She opens the window for him.  
  
"Night, Boy Wonder."  
  
He climbs out the window and gets back to his patrol. Batman asks where he was. Dick shrugs and replies with "Nowhere." Bruce doesn't push him for an answer. They've made up after their argument, but things have changed between them.  
  
\---------------  
  
Clark takes his sweet time in contacting Barry, to give Wally a chance to think. He's on his third rerun episode of _'Friends'_ when Clark picks up his phone. I'm going to call him now, okay? I'll let him know you're alright. You have no reason to be worried, ya hear me?" he says softly. Wally nods. It's time to face the music.  
  
Only about a minute after the call ends, Barry arrives at the door. He immediately speeds over to Wally and pulls him into a tight hug.   
  
"You're okay! Your aunt and I were so worried about you," Barry says.   
  
"I'm so sorry," Wally says, blinking back tears that have formed so quickly he thinks it's a bit pathetic. Clark makes himself scarce, but there's the possibility that he's eavesdropping from the kitchen.   
  
"It's okay, kid. I'm sorry too," Barry says, putting his hands on Wally's shoulders, "I didn't know you were listening. I'm sorry if I sounded negative. I didn't intend to, I was just a little surprised, that's all. I thought you liked girls."  
  
Wally looks down, shaking his head, "It...was an act. I didn't want to disappoint you." _Like I disappointed my dad._  
  
"You haven't disappointed me, Wally. Not one bit. If other people are bothering you at school, let me know and I'll try my best to do something about it. If you decide to bring a guy home some day, I'll support that...unless he's not good enough for you," Barry says, then smiles. Wally hugs him again.   
  
"Thank you," Wally says, holding back tears. Barry pats his nephew's back. The ‘ _Friends’_ theme song playing in the background provides a weird atmosphere to the whole thing.  
  
They both stand up and spot Clark in the kitchen, dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief and holding his glasses in his other hand. He smiles at them.   
  
"Thank you, Clark."  
  
"Thanks, Uncle Supes."  
  
Clark nods, "You're a pleasure to eat pie with, Wally. Now, go on. Iris no doubt wants to see you safe and well."  
  
Clark was correct. Iris tackles him into a hug the moment Wally comes in the front door, but then starts scolding him.  
  
"Where did you go to last night?"  
  
"The Titan's cave," he tells her, deciding to leave out the amusement mile in Gotham.   
  
"You had us worried sick! Barry ran around for hours looking for you!" She turns to her husband, "Also, why didn't you check there?"  
  
"Well...the important thing is that he's okay. The two of us talked things over," Barry tells her.  
  
"Oh, good," Iris says with a smile. She wraps her arms around both of them, "I think we should watch a movie. I'm thinking _'Dirty_ _Dancing_.' Sound good?"  
  
Barry and Wally both groan.   
  
"Patrick Swayze is gorgeous in it! C'mon Walls, back me up here!" Iris says with a laugh.   
  
Wally doesn't deny it, but says, "He's dead though, isn't he?"   
  
\----------------  
  
On Monday, Dick is in English class when the familiar bell sound comes from the intercom and everyone immediately hushes to hear what's going to be said. That little hand bell has more power than any teacher in getting the students to stop talking.   
  
Dick is glad for the break in class. They're studying poetry. He doesn't mind reading poems. Some of them are quite nice. But reading it once or maybe twice is enough. He has no interest in dissecting and discussing the poet's 'hidden meaning' that according to his English teacher, always exists.   
  
He listens to the principal announce a whole-school assembly in the assembly hall before the next class starts. Heather, sitting behind him, groans, "I bet it's a uniform check. The _one_ day I wear unicorn socks."  
  
Dick can't help but scoff at that. Heather has gathered several demerit slips for breaking the uniform code just with her colourful socks. However, he can't help but wonder why the whole school is being called. Usually, assembles are held separately for each grade.  
  
The teacher manages to somewhat subside the whispering following the announcement and gets back to talking about the underlying meaning in the poem for the remaining ten minutes of class. Then the other school bell, that signals the end of class, rings. It sounds more like a doorbell than an actual bell. Dick used to joke about it so much that Barbara forbade him from mentioning it.   
  
The whole school pours into the assembly hall. Everyone stands with their grade. Heather is trying to figure out how to hide her socks and cursing the fact that she has to wear a skirt. Dick is still a little apprehensive about this whole thing. His worries are confirmed when the principal and vice principal walk in, followed by the police. Two of the officers have German Shepherds on leashes.  
  
Dick looks around. There's an air of panic among many of the students.   
  
"It has been brought to our attention that... _illegal substances_ are being used by a few of the students in our school. This, of course, is unacceptable. A locker search will go underway during the next class,” Headmaster Hammer announces.   
  
It's about time they try to tackle the growing drug problem in the school. Dick figures that they didn't want to admit that there was such a problem in Gotham's only private high school. That kind of thing only happened in public schools in their eyes. But it has obviously gotten too bad to ignore.  
  
Dick suddenly remembers something. There's batarangs in his locker. Used batarangs that definitely have traces of various things on them.   
  
"Bout time isn't it?" Heather says, then looks up at Dick, "What's up? It's not like...oh my god do _you_ have drugs in your locker?"  
  
"No! You know I'd never touch anything like that. I'm just...worried that one of Jack's friends might have hidden something in his locker."   
  
"Oh. Right."   
  
Everyone is told to make their way to their next class. Dick tells Heather that he's forgotten his French book and easily sneaks away from the crowd to go to his locker.   
  
He's halfway through putting in the combination when he sees the police out of the corner of his eye. _Shit_. Why are they checking the sophomore lockers first?  
  
"Why hello, Mister Grayson."  
  
Double shit. Barbara's dad. Dick can joke around all he wants as Robin on the roof of the GCPD, but as Dick Grayson he's on high alert.   
  
"Commissioner," Dick nods, putting on a neutral face. Gordon's moustache twitches.  
  
"I had a feeling you might be trouble."  
  
"Sir, I think you misunderstand. I forgot my French book. Madame S. will have my head if I don't bring it to class," Dick explains.  
  
"Well then, If you have nothing to hide, I'm sure you won't mind us having a look, will you?" the Commissioner says with a smile.  
  
Dick swallows and nods, then goes to open his locker for them. He stands back. Gordon looks at the pictures in his locker, specifically at the photo booth strip of Dick with his daughter. Then, the German Shepherd is let do its job. Dick hopes that the batarangs don't have much on them. He can't remember if he cleaned them recently.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Dick is sitting outside the principal's office with a bunch of other students. Some of them are people Dick didn't even know were users (although perhaps some of them got caught with something else like he did. Alcohol maybe). There's only a few other sophomores there, surprisingly. Less surprisingly, one happens to be Simon Cosgrove, one of the guys who has been bullying Dick for the last two years.   
  
Simon's latest little joke was drawing a penis on Dick's locker, along with the word 'fag' in black sharpie this morning. Barbara luckily had hand sanitiser with her and they managed to wipe it off before too many people saw it.  
  
He's sitting right next to Dick and trying his best not to look scared shitless. In order to mask his fear, he continues his regularly scheduled programming of bothering Dick.  
  
"Thought someone like you would be too pussy to do drugs," Simon comments.  
  
"I don't do drugs because I'm smart enough to know that it fucks you up," Dick says as coolly as he can.  
  
"If you're not doing drugs then what are you doing here? Did they find a few issues of Playgirl in your locker?"  
  
Dick sighs. He so desperately wants to punch him but he knows it won't help his situation at all. And come on, who even has physical porn when the Internet is widely available these days?  
  
"Or have they finally gotten evidence that Bruce Wayne and you have been doing the dirty?"  
  
That comment makes him feel sick. Ugh. That horrible rumour still hasn't died.   
  
"Oh, here comes _Daddy_ now," Simon sneers.  
  
"Do you ever shut up?" Dick asks, then looks up to see Bruce walking down the corridor towards him in his business suit. He's clearly come straight from work.   
  
The last time Bruce was in the principal's office was to enrol Dick, before that it was when he himself was being expelled from the school. The few other parents who have arrived are whispering to each other. Some of the moms look a bit flustered, even though they have better things to be worrying about right now than what Bruce Wayne thinks of them.  
  
"Dick."   
  
"Bruce," Dick says to the man who has just stopped in front of him, "Everything is fine. It doesn't look like it, but I assure you, it is."  
  
"It better be," Bruce grumbles, taking the empty seat on Dick's other side. There's silence for a few moments. Dick mulls over what he's about to do, considering he and Bruce are still on slightly rocky terms, but decides to go ahead with it.  
  
"Oh, I should introduce you. Bruce, this is Simon. He likes to call me a fag at least once a week," Dick says, with a practised fake smile, "You trade with his dad's company, don't you?"  
  
Bruce hardly looks at the kid sitting next to Dick.  
  
"Yes, I do. Or rather, I used to," Bruce says with his signature billionaire playboy smile. Simon makes a sort of whimpering sound. He looks like he might shit himself.   
  
The door of the principal's office opens and Jim Gordon steps out. He looks at Bruce and Dick.  
  
"Mr Wayne?"  
  
Bruce stands up to shake his hand and breaks out the smile again. He plays stupid, "Commissioner Gordon. Is this serious?"  
  
"Yes, Mr Wayne. It is," he replies tiredly, "If you and your ward could follow me please?"  
  
Dick stands up and goes to Bruce. Right before they walk in the door, Bruce bends down from his height and whispers, "What did they find?"  
  
"Uh, you'll see. It's fine though. I have a plan," Dick whispers back.  
  
"Hmn."  
  
A minute later, they're both seated in Headmaster Hammer's office with the principal and the commissioner. Dick follows Bruce's example and tries to remain as cool and collected as possible.   
  
"We found these in your ward's locker," Gordon says, holding up a plastic evidence bag with three batarangs in it. Bruce remains expressionless, but Dick knows he's probably cursing in his head.  
  
"Of course, the only explanation I can think of for a sixteen year old boy having these is him being Robin. You know very well that he's not an urban myth like a lot of people think."  
  
"That's a very serious accusation, Commissioner. Dick, where on earth did you get those things?"  
  
Dick plays it cool and shrugs, "I found them. They're all over the city if you look."  
  
"Why were they in your school locker?" Jim asks.  
  
"I wanted to show them to my friends, that's all. They're cool. But I have no idea how to use them. " Dick tells him, "I'm...I'm not in trouble, am I?"  
  
"It's clearly just a simple misunderstanding, Commissioner. Dick doesn't mean any harm. You know how exciting it is for kids to find evidence about the Bat," Bruce says.  
  
Jim doesn't look entirely convinced, but repeats, "Clearly."  
  
"So can we go? It's almost lunch," Dick asks.  
  
Two minutes later, they're walking back out, relieved, "That was a close one," Dick says.  
  
"Commissioner Gordon doesn't seem to like you."  
  
"It's because I'm friends with Babs."  
  
"Just friends?"  
  
"What do you care?" Dick says. Bruce looks slightly hurt after he says it, but his face quickly turns emotionless again.  
  
"See you back at the manor."  
  
Dick watches Bruce walk out the door at reception. He then goes straight to the cafeteria, figuring there's no point in going to French class when there's only a few minutes left. He sits down at the usual table with his lunch and waits for his friends.  
  
The cafeteria slowly fills up after the bell rings. Barbara arrives first and runs over to him, "What happened? Overheard someone saying you were at the Head's office."  
  
"I had batarangs in my locker. Your dad decided to check the sophomore lockers first and caught me 'getting my French book' sooo.."  
  
Her mouth drops open as she sits down across the table from him, "You _idiot_. Why would you put them in your locker?"  
  
He shrugs, "Just in case? I came up with an excuse and got away with it. Your dad hates me, by the way."  
  
"He doesn't hate you. He's just...overprotective."  
  
"No, he made it clear that he hates me. He probably thinks I'm a playboy like Bruce."  
  
Barbara doesn't deny this. Bea comes and sits down next to her, "Oh! Dick. You're back in school."  
  
He nods and lies, "Yeah, I went with Bruce on a business trip to Europe."  
  
"Cool."  
  
Heather slides into the seat next to him, "Dude. Where did you go? You never came to French class."  
  
"Barbara's dad saw me opening my locker. He got suspicious. It's fine though, I'm not in any trouble," he explains, doing his usual business of taking the cucumbers out of his sandwich.   
  
"Good. The vice spotted my socks. I got another demerit," Heather pulls out the yellow slip of paper, "So I have detention after school. My dad's gonna be pissed. But hey, it's not my fault this school discourages individuality."  
  
"Change the world, Heather. One pair of smiley face socks at a time," Babs says, just as Allison sits down next to Bea.  
  
"Unicorns today, Babs. So...are you two cool?" Heather asks, gesturing between Dick and Babs. They both nod, blushing a little.  
  
"Hold up," Bea says, "Are you guys like, _together_?"  
  
"As of last night, yes," Dick confirms.  
  
"Don't say it like that, it sounds like we did something," Babs tells him.  
  
Bea looks confused, "But you're gay, right? I thought the ginger guy - Wally - was your boyfriend and you two were just playing it down."  
  
Dick frowns at the mention of Wally's name, "No. He's straight. And I'm not gay...I'm bisexual."  
  
" _Sure_ you are. Only women can be bisexual. Like Lady Gaga," Bea scoffs.  
  
Heather rolls her eyes. She and Bea have never quite gotten along, "You know, people like you are the reason most bi guys never come out at all."  
  
"Why do you care?"  
  
Heather looks her dead in the eyes and says, "I'm a lesbian, Beatrice."   
  
Bea looks taken aback. She also seems a bit embarrassed. Bea grabs her bag and stands up from the table, avoiding eye contact with the others, "C'mon Allison. We don't want people thinking we're queer too."  
  
Allison looks at Bea's hand on her shoulder. She seems slightly reluctant, but gets up and leaves with the blonde. Barbara puts her head in her hands and mutters, cursing herself for ever befriending them.   
  
Heather is pissed, "What a bitch."  
  
"Wait, what? What happened? I zoned out. Who's a bitch?" Jane asks, looking up from her book. _‘Catching Fire_.’ To be perfectly honest, they hadn't paid her much attention. The dark-haired girl had been quietly reading and eating her lunch.  
  
"Beatrice was perfectly happy thinking that Dick was gay, but as soon as she found out that I'm a lesbian, she stormed off and took Allison with her," Heather explains, crossing her arms.   
  
"Y..you're a lesbian? That's...that's cool," Jane says. Dick notes the blush in her cheeks. Hmm.  
  
"You're not going to join them?" Barbara asks.   
  
Jane shrugs, "I'm quiet. But I have my own opinions."   
  
Heather smiles and sincerely says, "Thank you."  
  
"Uh, you probably also missed that Babs and I are official now," Dick proudly informs her. Jane nods and congratulates them, then politely excuses herself to the library, still a little red in the face.  
  
"I need to get to know Jane a bit better," Heather says thoughtfully.  
  
"Go get her, girl," Dick says with a smile, "I feel you might actually have a shot there."  
  
Heather throws her arm around him, "You know, you're pretty cool, Dick. For a guy."  
  
"I try my best," He says, shrugging.  
  
  


 


	5. Acrobat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, sorry for the wait. I've been up the walls busy. This is a short update (it was longer but I cut away the part I was unsure about. Basically half of it). This hasn't been past a beta so if there's any mistakes let me know!  
> There's some implied ptsd in this chapter, along with some of the usual stuff in the tags.

Wally stares at the page in his English book. The teacher is reading out an extract from some old novel. He's not listening. Instead of her voice, he hears Dick's. Singing that stupid old song.

_"He soars through the air with the greatest of ease, the daring young man on the flying_ _trapeze"_

Wally can't get him out of his head. Especially in the classes that aren't maths or science. Ever since realising his...crush, he's been thinking about Dick even more often than usual. It doesn't help matters that he knows what kissing Dick's lips feels like -

"Wallace."

Wally is snapped out of his daydream by Mrs McEnroe. She's standing at his desk with her copy of the textbook in her hands and frowning down at him. He feels himself go scarlet.

"Uh."

"Can you please read from where I stopped?"

Wally looks back down at the page. Shit. A few of his classmates are trying to mask their snickers.

"Or, could you tell me what the extract is about?"

He reads through the entire page in a few milliseconds, but it doesn't help him understand it any bit. Wally shakes his head.

The teacher asks to see him after class, tells him to pay attention and then gets back to reading aloud. Wally's eyes follow the words on the page but his mind drifts away again.

Dick has a nice singing voice. He doesn't use it often. Most people don't get to hear it, but Wally has heard him sing many times, both properly and jokingly. He's a natural performer. Wally could listen to him for hours. The Teen Titans should do a karaoke night.

Wally tries not to sigh out loud. What's the point? He still hasn't apologised to Dick for kissing him and running away. They haven't talked properly for weeks. But he knows that Dick is in a gymnastics final today. Wally will just about make it if he leaves right after school.

After class is over, and the teacher is done lecturing Wally about the importance of classical literature, he finally leaves the classroom. He knows that he needs to apologise, but how?

Frances bumps into his side and joins him in walking along the busy hallway to the cafeteria, "Hey. You okay? You look kinda out of it."

"I'm hungry. I need food."

She tilts her head to the side, "And...."

"I'm...thinking about you-know-who again," Wally admits after some hesitation and glances around him. Frances knows exactly who he means.

"It's so weird seeing you lovesick. Like, for real lovesick and not just pretending."

"I'm not...How do I make it go away? What do you do when you get a crush that you know is hopeless?"

"Fantasise anyways. There's nothing wrong with thinking about someone. Acting on it...is another thing."

"Me acting on it is the reason my...crush isn't talking to me," Wally says miserably. He pulls a chocolate protein bar from his pocket and tears it open.

"You need to figure out how to apologise."

Wally says I know, but it's muffled by a mouthful of protein bar.

"You take comfort eating to a whole new level," she says shaking her head. Frances knows about his secret identity, regardless of him denying it several times. Eventually he just gave up trying to hide it from her.

They pass by the notice board in the crowded cafeteria. Something catches Frances' eye.

"Aha!" she grabs Wally by the shoulders and spins him around to show him the poster, "Look! The circus is in town! Your crush is from the circus, right? You should get tickets to apologise."

"It's not Haley's circus," Wally says, looking at it and frowning.

"So? A circus is a circus isn't it?"

"My crush would probably disagree."

"Well it's better than any idea you have, isn't it?"

"I guess so. I...could invite him to go see it after his gymnastics contest later," Wally whispers, hoping nobody hears him using a male pronoun.

She reaches up and ruffles his hair, "Perfect. Now c'mon, I'm hungry too. Let's get some school meatloaf."

\--------------------

"Well done, mate. I knew you'd get another gold in floor," Jack says, taking a look at the two gold medals hanging around Dick's neck. They're heavier than they look.

The two of them are standing in the corridor, getting water from the dispenser. They've both finished their competitions for the day.

"Thanks, Jack. Congratulations on your silver."

"Eh, I'll get the gold next time. I was just...a bit distracted," he shrugs, looking down at his silver medal and twisting it around, "My parents might be starting a custody battle over me."

"That sucks," Dick says. Jack rolls his eyes.

"It's pointless really, with me nearly being eighteen and all. Just another way to get at each other. Mum wants me to stay in the states and finish high school here. Dad wants me to go back to England and attend some hoitey-toitey rugby boarding school."

"What do you want to do?" Dick asks.

"I don't know. You Yanks drive me round the bend, but I've gotten fond of this mad, mad country," Jack says with a laugh, "At the same time...I miss dairy milk bars and proper biscuits. Also, your healthcare system is for shit."

Without being so used to Alfred, Dick wouldn't know what Jack talks about half of the time. He nods, "It is."

"Oh, it's your ginger mate," Jack says, nudging him. Dick gives him a confused look, then turns his head and whispers.

"What the fuck?"

To Dick's great surprise, Wally is walking down the long corridor toward them. It's weird seeing him walk. If he could, Dick knows that he'd be standing in front of him already. In a sense, he's glad for the time to brace himself for this conversation.

"Hi," Wally says, stopping about a metre away. Dick crosses his arms.

"What are you doing here?"

"I...I came to say sorry," Wally says.

Dick is surprised for a moment, then his eyes turn icy again, "It took you long enough."

"I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done what I did and I shouldn't have run away after doing it. It was unfair."

"Yeah, it was."

Jack looks between the two younger boys. There's bite in Dick's voice. Jack had no idea that they had fallen out. Wally has come to all of their events recently. However, he hasn't sat in his usual seat next to Barbara for the last month or so. Jack decides to slip away and let them sort it out between themselves.

"I...hear you and Barbara are together now," It hurts Wally to say it.

"Yeah. We are."

"Congrats," Wally says, shoving his hands into his pockets. Just cut to the chase, "So uh, there's a circus in Central City this week. It's not Haley's, but the first show is tonight, if you want to go."

Dick considers it. He's less mad at Wally than he was and the idea of seeing a circus is enticing, even if it isn't his circus.

"What time?"

Wally's face lights up, "The show starts at six-thirty. Five-thirty Eastern Time."

"...Okay. I'll see you at five-twenty."

"Eastern Time?"

Dick rolls his eyes, "Duh."

"DICK!"

The two boys turn to see the girl who shouted coming towards them. The few other people in the corridor glare disapprovingly. Barbara hisses something to her.

"Sorry! Richard!"

"...Heather?" Wally asks. He's heard of her.

"Heather," Dick confirms with a smile. His posture is less tense now.

The girls come over to Dick and pull him into a hug. He kisses Barbara on the cheek. Wally watches. It's like someone is squeezing his heart. Then the wave of guilt washes over him. Dick has a girlfriend and there's nothing Wally can do about it. He's happy and therefore Wally should be happy for him.

"Hi," Barbara greets, snapping Wally out of his thoughts. The girls have been congratulating Dick on his gold medals.

"Hi."

"So. You're Wally. I've heard a lot about you," Heather says, putting one hand on her hip and giving him a once over.

"I'm guessing not all of it's good."

"You'd be right," she says, looking directly at his red hair, then at Barbara's. She hums, "Interesting."

Dick follows her eyes, then coughs. He tells them, "Wally has apologised."

The girls loosen up a bit. Barbara says, "Oh thank god."

"We're going to the circus," Wally says. Heather looks confused.

"I thought the circus was in Europe. Mongolia or something."

"Mongolia isn't in Europe. I'm pretty sure the circus is in Montenegro," Barbara says.

"I've never heard of either of those countries," Wally admits, "It's not Haley's."

Heather shrugs, "We're going for celebratory milkshakes. You coming?"

Wally shakes his head, "I have to go do my homework first," he glances at Dick,"I'll come back later to pick you up."

Dick nods. Wally walks away down the corridor again and out of the building. Heather narrows her eyes.

"Wait a second. Doesn't he live in Central City? How's he gonna..."

\------------------

Wally quickly finishes his homework and ends up pacing back and forth in his room at super speed. He's overthinking every little thing and imagining a thousand different scenarios.

"You okay, Kid?"

Wally almost smacks into the wall. He spins around to see Barry leaning against the door frame. Wally nods at him, "Mm hm."

Barry looks unconvinced, "You sure?"

"Uh...I really don't think this is the kind of thing you can help me with."

"No? You sure?"

Wally looks at the floor, "It's uh, not...straightforward."

"...Oh."

There's a few moments of awkward silence between them before Barry says, "Well, I can try my best."

Wally shakes his head, "No. Thanks, but...no."

His uncle looks a little hurt, but nods, "Okay. Remember that I'm here to talk if you want to. So is Iris, if you'd prefer that."

He leaves, closing the door behind him. Wally sits down on his bed and sighs. He feels guilty about pushing away Barry. He feels guilty for liking his best friend. He feels guilty for disappointments his parents....there's a long list of things he feels guilty about.

\--------------------

Dick and Wally arrive at the circus. The journey there had been fast, but awkward. Wally passes him his ticket and their fingers brush for a moment. They both pull their hands away quickly and avoid eye contact. Wally's heart does a somersault, similar to the ones he saw Dick doing earlier.

Wally thinks that he should have brought Frances along with them, so they wouldn't be alone together, but she would have refused. He hates how awkward things are. Wally wants things to go back to the way they were. It feels like they haven't been friends for ten years. At least, in Wally's mind.

"Let's get some food," Dick suggests.

They take their seats in the tent with an ungodly amount of popcorn and candy floss. Dick is trying to act distant, but he can't help but smile when the lights dim and the music starts. The ringmaster welcomes everyone and then announces the first act.

Wally sneaks glances at Dick while they're laughing at the clowns and their shenanigans. Dick's laugh is fantastic. It's so infectious. He can't help but laugh whenever Dick laughs. Wally has missed hearing it. He's missed his best friend.

Things are going pretty well. They're back to joking with each other again, making comments on the various acts. The food disappears at an unsurprisingly fast rate. Dick's eyes light up when the trapeze artists are announced. Wally knows he'd give anything to be up there with them.

"They're good. But my parents were better," Dick says, watching them swing back and forth. Towards the end of the act, one of the trapeze artists performs a triple somersault. Dick is about to tell Wally that he's able to do a quadruple. Then, when Dick opens his mouth to speak, the acrobat misses the bar by about an inch. He falls.

Most of the people in the tent gasp, including Wally. A few small children scream. Dick jumps forwards in his seat and shouts in horror. The acrobat lands in the safety net below, but Dick is still shaking. The people around them not focused on the fallen acrobat are giving him some odd looks and whispering.

"I need some air," Dick says, getting up from his seat, which is on the outside of the row, and jogging down the steps.

Wally abandons what's left of the popcorn and candy floss to follow him.

Dick is standing outside the tent, trying to pull himself together. He tries to control his breathing like Bruce taught him. Wally places his hand on his shoulder.

"Breath. Are you okay?"

"Don't ask me that. It just makes me feel worse."

Dick swipes a sleeve across his eyes. His cheeks are red with embarrassment. Wally nods and removes his hand, not really sure what to say. He glances to the left and happens to see the acrobat that fell walking out of the tent, also red in the face.

"Hey look, he's okay, see?" Wally says, bobbing his head towards the performer.

"I know," Dick glances over to the man and then rolls his eyes, "I feel like an idiot."

"You're not an idiot. I-"

"Not my best performance," the acrobat says, walking towards the two teenagers, "To be perfectly honest, I saw you in the crowd and it threw me off a bit."

Dick points to himself, "Me? Why?"

"You look just like someone I used to know. A long time ago. Freaked me out a bit," the man says, shaking his head. He holds out a hand to them, "I'm Trevor Bueller."

"Dick Grayson. He's Wally West."

Trevor's eyes widen, "You're shitting me. No wonder you look familiar. You're Gio - John's boy, aren't you?"

Dick nods.

"I was friends with your dad back in the day. I...I heard about the accident a few months after it happened. Missed the funeral. I'm sorry. I heard you saw everything."

Dick looks down at the ground. Wally nods.

"How old are you now?"

"Sixteen," Dick replies.

"God. Last time I saw you, you were about yay-high," Trevor gestures to around his knee, "You look exactly like your dad. Except for your eyes. You've got your mother's eyes."

"Like Harry Potter," Wally says, then feels like slapping himself. Not the time for a stupid joke. However, Dick laughs.

"It was nice meeting you, Dick. Before you go back inside the tent...can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"The quadruple somersault. Can you do it?"

Dick grins, "I can."

"Of course you can, you're a Grayson, after all. Hopefully I'll see you again some time."

Dick and Wally head back into the big top and take their seats once more. It's not often Dick meets people who knew his parents personally. More often it's just circus enthusiasts or people that have heard of them through showbiz. It's bittersweet, but a little more sweet than bitter.

\--------------------

Afterwards, the two boys end up wandering around the city centre with a large takeaway bag of fries. Central City looks nice in the dark. Or near dark. It's not intimidating like Gotham and it's more humble than the shiny glass skyscrapers of Metropolis. The centre of the city is mostly museums and council buildings, most of which are closed by now, so it's not very busy.

"Sorry for making a scene at the circus," Dick says.

"Nah, It was justified. I figure it was kinda scary considering what happened to your parents," Wally says, taking another French fry out of the brown paper bag.

Dick looks down at the pavement. There's less gum stuck into it than there is in Gotham.

"I...get flashbacks sometimes too," Wally tells him, "I haven't really figured out all the things that...set them off yet."

"What do you mean?"

"Well for one, I don't like seeing people unbuckle their belts. Makes me flinch."

It takes Dick a few seconds. When it dawns on him what Wally means, he's not really sure how to reply. He looks up at him and just says, "Fuck."

"Yeah. I hate thanksgiving too. It's the one time of the year that I have to see my parents. Not looking forward to it. Plus, lots of my relatives are really...traditional," Wally says.

"Traditional meaning sexist, homophobic and overly religious?"

"Yep."

"It's guess it's lucky that I don't have to listen to any relatives condemning me to hell for not being straight. And that I haven't gotten kicked out."

Like me, Wally thinks. Not that Dick knows that. He looks at Dick check the time on his watch.

"I should be getting back to Gotham for patrol. Batman and I aren't on the best of terms right now anyway. No point in him getting mad at me for being late."

"Sure."

Only a few seconds later, Dick dismounts Wally's back. If he was anyone else, Dick probably would have gotten sick from the motion right after eating, but when you do as many flips and somersaults as he does you develop a strong stomach.

They're standing outside the front door of Wayne Manor. Alfred hasn't opened it yet and Dick hopes that he doesn't. At least not right now.

"So. Are we...going to talk about it?"

Wally knows exactly what Dick means, "Talk about what?"

"You know what I mean," Dick says, avoiding eye contact. Wally's heart is beating rapidly, beyond what's deemed as acceptable for a normal human. He can feel himself sweating.

"I..."

"If you have something to tell me. Just say it. I won't get mad."

Wally's brain screams that it's now or never. Just tell him. But the right words don't form. They're stuck in his throat. He can't say it. So instead he says, "No. Just...forget that it ever happened, okay? I wasn't thinking straight..."

Great choice of words. Dick seems disappointed in him.

"No. You weren't. But just so you know, this is platonic, okay?"

"I know. Of course," Wally says. It feels like someone has punched him in the chest, "I'm sorry if I...confused you or anything. I don't know what I was thinking. Are...are we best friends again?"

Dick makes a face, like he's not sure. Wally is worried for a moment. Then Dick smirks.

"I'm joking. Of course we are."

"Oh, good. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," Dick says, then initiates a 'bro hug.'

Wally returns to central city on a high, which falls to a low by the time he reaches the living room couch. He groans loudly.

"I hate feelings."

Barry is sitting on the couch next to him a second later. He offers him a breadstick. Wally takes it and starts munching it sadly.

"So? Who's the guy that's making you despair?"

It's weird hearing Barry use male pronouns now when he talks about relationships and stuff. Wally hesitates, but feels bad for pushing his uncle away earlier, so he says, "I like Dick."

Barry coughs awkwardly, "Uh, yeah. I know that. But who-"

"Forget it," Wally is ready lock his feelings back up and toss the key into a black hole.

"Oh! Wait a second! You like _Dick_."

Wally takes another breadstick and says nothing.

"Well that's good, isn't it? You said that he likes guys too."

"But he doesn't like me. Not in that way. He just told me."

"Oh. Did you tell him that you like him?"

"No! Of course not! He's got a girlfriend and I...I don't think I could anyway. He was making sure I knew that he didn't like me...because I..." Wally whispers, "I sorta kissed him."

"Wait what? When?"

"Like...over a month ago..."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Wally gives his uncle a look and he sighs, "Yeah, okay. I get it."

Wally stands up and goes towards the kitchen, "Why can't I just be _normal_ and like boobs like every other guy?"

Barry isn't sure how to reply to that. He wishes there was a guide to comforting nephews that have internalised homophobia. He wants to help, but Iris is so much better at dealing with this sort of thing.

Barry hears the front door open and close. He zips into the hallway to greet his wife. She jumps at how suddenly he appears in front of her.

"Jeez Bear, you're worse than a golden retriever," Iris remarks as he kisses her cheek, "How was your day?"

"My day was fine, but I couldn't say the same about Wally."

Iris immediately drops her bag and throws her keys on the table. She pushes past Barry and makes a beeline for the kitchen out of instinct. Barry smiles and then puts another breadstick in his mouth.

"Wally, sweetie?" Iris pokes her head into the kitchen.

Wally is eating a large bowl of sugary cereal and has one of her magazines propped up on the table. She sits down across from him.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to find a model pretty enough to turn me straight," he replies in monotone, like it's the most obvious course of action.

Not the answer she was expecting, "You know it doesn't work like that."

"What else am I supposed to do? Most other methods are religious-based and that's not really my cup of tea. Or Coffee? I don't drink tea."

She reaches across the table and turns to the next page, which features a handsome male model. Iris sees his pupils widen. After a moment he realises what she's doing and closes the magazine.

"Wally, you can't change who you are."

"That's easy for you to say. You're straight," Wally says, wiping his eye quickly with his sleeve, just slow enough that she can see it.

"Did something happen at school?"

"No."

"Did something happen in Gotham?"

"How...did you know I was in Gotham?" he asks.

"Because you had 'Dick's gymnastics final' written on your calendar for today. In red pen. Circled."

"Oh."

Wally looks at the door behind Iris, where Barry is standing. Wally isn't sure how long his uncle has been listening. He's a lot better at stealth than Wally is. Iris doesn't notice him until he bites into another breadstick.

She turns around, "How much do you know?"

Barry mimes zipping his mouth and locking it. He speeds away. Very loyal of him. Wally sighs and stands up.

"Look aunt I, I really don't want to explain all this. I think I'm gonna go take a nap."

"It's okay to fall for your friend, Wally. I mean look at Barry and I."

"I _can't_ be like you and Barry! You guys are married!"

Iris frowns. Her nephew is gone in the blink of an eye. She hopes that some day that statement will be less true. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas/Happy Hannuka/Happy Holidays folks!


	6. Scientist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's so obvious that this is two months late...  
> Also I don't know much about thanksgiving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys probably know the drill by now, but there's homophobic language in this.

Wally hates Thanksgiving. On the way to Blue Valley he comes up with a list of reasons why they shouldn't celebrate it and he shouldn't come.

"Genocide, Barry. This is a celebration of genocide."

Barry sighs. He's heard this exact sentence from his nephew seventeen times this week. He recites his usual reply, "I know, and it's terrible. I don't like it either. But this is one of the few times in the year we visit Grandpa Ira. He loves seeing you. You know that."

Grandpa Ira is a famous physicist and is an all round good guy. Wally thinks he's the best, even if he is a bit...forgetful and muddled in his old age. Sometimes forgets how old Wally is. Also sometimes forgets that Wally doesn't live with Mary and Rudy anymore. That particular mistake happens less than it used to. 

"Yeah, but my parents don't. I don't know if you guys realise how terrible the rest of the family is aside from Grandpa."

"Wally..." Iris says.

"Iris, you hate them too! I know you do!" Wally exclaims from the back of the car, "Dick doesn't have to deal with this. Or Donna. Or Garth."

"Dick doesn't have any biological family and Garth and Donna don't celebrate thanksgiving."

"Yeah, cuz it's genocide."

Barry is contemplating asking Iris to pull over and let Wally run home.

"Why don't we go to Jay and Joan's like we do for Christmas? And bring Grandpa with us? Jay and Grandpa would get on really we-"

"Chocolates. There's chocolates in the compartment under your seat. You can eat them if you stop complaining," Iris snaps. Wally immediately goes silent, then reaches for the chocolates that he was previously unaware of.

"And eat them slowly."

They arrive at Grandpa Ira's house and there's a lot of fake smiles on Wally's behalf. He sees his dad sitting in the living room. They ignore each other. His mom says hello to him, so he says hello back in the name of politeness. It's an awkward greeting with no hug to go with it. 

Iris had told Wally months back that his parents are working through a divorce. He doesn't know why his mom bothered to come. Wally knows that his parents had previous problems in their relationship, but can't help feeling like a big part of it is his fault. 

Wally greets his grandpa with a genuine smile. Ira is a little confused for a second and almost calls him Rudy - a reminder to Wally that the older he gets the more he looks like his dad - but corrects himself. Wally takes a seat in the dining room next to him. Dinner isn't on the table yet and won't be for at least another few hours.

"Ru...Wallace! How's your science going?"

"Pretty good. I got an A+ in my last physics test. I'm not as good at chemistry and biology, but Barry helps me with those. It's handy having a forensic scientist around."

They chat for a while, Wally tells him about using his friends as test subjects for his science projects and the like. Ira tells Wally stories that he's heard several times before, but he doesn't interrupt him.

Iris comes into the dining room with a pile of plates, "I was kicked out of the kitchen. Can you help me set the table?"

"Why? Dinner won't be for a few more hours," Wally says.

Iris shrugs, "I have nothing else to do. If I go into the living room it's quite possible that I'll kill your father."

"Go ahead."

Iris gives him a look, but doesn't comment on his remark. He's somewhat entitled to it. Grandpa Ira ignores the exchange. She walks out and Barry walks in. He pulls out a chair and sits in it.

"Happy Thanksgiving Ira. Hey, Wally. You don't by any chance have any of those chocolates left over, do you?" 

"Uh..."

"I'm starving," Barry says. His stomach rumbles a second later, excellent timing.

"I have a stash of goodies in my lab," Ira says with a smile, slowly standing up, "Follow me."

By lab, he means his garage filled with science equipment and random crap. Everything is pretty cluttered, with the exception of the self holding his Nobel prize. Grandpa eventually finds his stash and they pig out on Herseys and M&MS. Wally and Barry don't want to know how long the chocolate has been there. Even if they did, they'd be too hungry to care.

They stay in there mucking around for two hours and somehow manage to not set the place on fire. When they come back into the house, dinner still isn't ready. Wally's dad has taken the title of 'drunk uncle' with uncle Edgar not far behind him. They're watching football in the living room and Wally avoids them like the plague.

Wally decides to go upstairs and hide until dinner is ready. His cousin Inez is sitting halfway up the stairs, texting on her phone. She's a year older than Wally. Inez puts her leg out to block his way up. He looks down at her with annoyance.

"C'mon just let me-"

"So. You're the gay cousin."

Wally freezes. His heart race instantly increases and he's already sweating, "Who told you that?"

"Nobody. Not directly, anyway. I overheard your dad drunkenly giving Barry an earful. Blaming it on him and Iris."

"Can you just let me go upstairs please? I've...gotta make a call."

She raises an eyebrow, "Boyfriend?"

"Nooooo. No. I don't have a boyfriend."

"No? You know there's a gay guy who you used to go to school with you here. Derek or something. You should look him up."

Wally gets past her leg and continues upstairs. He knows who she's talking about. His name isn't Derek. It's Darren. And Wally doesn't want to 'look him up' for reasons.

He finds himself calling Dick for no reason, as he often does. 

"Just had dinner. I'm stuffed," Dick pauses, then says, "With food. Bruce's cousin and uncle came around for a while. How's your Thanksgiving going?"

"Better than other years, but still crappy. Hung out in grandpa's lab with him and Barry. But, dinner still isn't ready yet and my dad is the drunk uncle."

"That sucks. You got any plans for tomorrow?"

"We're staying the night here and going back some time tomorrow," Wally says.

"Barbara and the other girls have dragged me into Black Friday shopping."

"Hm. I wonder why they're dragging you into it..."

"I don't know if that's a joke about my sexuality or my financial situation."

"Do you have to go with them?"

"No, but I'd feel awful letting them face that chaos alone. Any chance of you running over and joining us?"

"Oh believe me, I'd love to, but tomorrow I'll be eating turkey sandwiches with my grandpa. I can't just run off. A lot of my family don't know I'm a speedster."

"Yeah, I guess," Dick says. He sounds disappointed. Wally hears his Aunt Charlotte yell that dinner is ready before he has time to over analyse that.

"Food - gotta go - bye!"

Not using his super speed to get to the dining room is a challenge. He takes a seat next to Ira, who is sitting at the head of the table. He accidentally makes eye contact with his dad. It causes him to grip his cutlery tighter. Wally tries to keep focused on the food and the thought of seeing Dick tomorrow.

The food is great - turkey, ham, cheesy potatoes and a heck of a lot more, all drizzled with gravy - but the dinner experience as a whole isn't great. Only a few minutes in someone mentions Obama and an argument starts brewing. 

Wally's mom asks Inez if she has a boyfriend in an attempt to cut the tension, before Iris gets up to clobber her brother in law for a racist comment about the president. Inez blushes and gives a brief description. Wally knows he's next. His hands are sweating and his knife and fork are close to slipping out of his hands. He keeps eating and avoids looking at them.

"And what about you, Wally?" Aunt Charlotte says, "Any special girl in your life?"

He very nearly chokes. Wally swallows and says, "Uh...yeah."

Across from him, Barry and Iris glance at each other. Wally knows that he shouldn't, but the lie keeps going, "Her name is Frances."

"Frances Kane?" His mom asks.

"Y-Yeah. She moved to Central. She's also back in town for Thanksgiving. I'm gonna hang out with her tomorrow," Wally says, looking down at his plate. He doesn't know why he said that. It just came out before he had a chance to think about it.

"That's nice."

Wally is relieved when dinner is over. He leaves the dining room, planning to disappear for the rest of the day. Halfway down the hall someone grabs his arm and turns him around. To his shock, it's his dad, drunk and angry looking. Wally freezes on instinct.

"Who're you really meetin? It's that boy isn't it? The one who fucked you up!"

Wally knows what he's talking about. Who he's talking about. He doesn't say anything. Wally feels like he's ten again.

"Answer me goddamnit!"

Next thing Wally knows, Barry is in between them, "If you lay a hand on him you'll be answering to me and my friends."

"You think you and your freak friends scare me?"

"Back off, Rudy," Barry says coldly.

"He had the makings of a decent man before you and that stupid boy came along and fucked him up! Now he's a sodomite with superpowers!"

Rudy goes for a punch, which Barry blokes with ease. Ira's voice is heard from the dining room door, "What is going on? What's with all this ruckus?"

The old man pokes his head in and takes in the scene.

"Rudy! Leave the boy be!"

"This doesn't concern you, Dad," Rudy says, anger burning in his eyes.

"This is my house and he's my grandson dammit. If you won't let him be, you'll have to leave." 

Rudy looks caught off guard, "What?"

"You heard me. Let him be or leave."

"But he's-"

"I couldn't give a hoot what he is. None of my own kids wanted to be scientists, but Wallace does. That's all I care about."

Rudy grabs his jacket and drunkenly stumbles towards the front door. He glares at Barry and then Wally as he passes and mutters something that sounds an awful lot like 'pillow biter.' Wally shrinks back. He leaves with a door slam that sends a shiver down Wally's spine.

Iris comes out of the bathroom, "What the hell just happened?"

"Ira kicked Rudy out of the house," Barry says, moving aside to let Iris run to Wally.

"Are you okay? I swear, if he touched you-" 

"I'm fine!" Wally says, even though he isn't. He suddenly realises that he's shaking

"Someone should go follow Rudolph. I'm mad at him but he'll get hurt in the state he's in," Ira says, shaking his head. 

"He can get hit by a car for all care," Iris mutters.

Thanksgiving ends there. Uncle Edgar, Aunt Charlotte, Inez and Mary go home. Wally goes to bed early, in a bed set up in the attic. He reads for a bit, to try take his mind off of his dad. It doesn't really work. Somehow he's managed not to cry yet.

"Whatcha reading?"

Wally looks up to see his grandpa coming up into the attic.

"Steven Hawking. Should you be using the attic ladder?"

"I'm not so old that I can't climb a ladder."

Wally walks over and helps him up the last few steps. Ira looks at the book.

"You got through it quick, didn't you?"

"I'm a fast reader. When it comes to science, anyway. Not much of a literature person."

Ira pats him on the back, "Neither am I."

Wally looks at the floor, "You..don't care that I..."

"Course not. We're all homo sapiens at the end of the day. Your dad doesn't seem to think so. No idea where he got that ideology from."

"Why was my mom here? If she and my dad are getting divorced then she has no reason to come to the Wests for Thanksgiving."

Grandpa Ira shrugs, "To see you I suppose."

"Why? I thought she hated me because...you know."

"Well, she is your mother at the end of the day. She mightn't agree with the way you are, but she still loves you. Mary might come around some day. But for now, I think you're better off with Iris."

Wally nods.

"Living with Barry and Iris is probably more exciting anyway," Ira says with a wink. Wally wonders if Grandpa knows more than he lets on, "Now...I might need some help getting back down."


	7. Teacher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Didn't beta this whelp

Dick knew the time would come when most of his friends leave for college. He always knew it. He's seen his friends submit college applications. He's attended several graduation ceremonies and parties. However, it doesn't quite seem to register fully with him until August.

The Titans are in the cave. Wally and Garth are paying air hockey, Donna and Lilith are sitting on the couch discussing Harry Potter and Dick is practicing his floor gymnastics. No missions, just making the most out of the last days of summer vacation left. There was a plan to go to the beach, which Garth was excited about (even though they had been to the beach several times over the summer), but it rained.

"So when are you back to school, Dick?" Donna asks. He's suddenly reminded that unlike everyone else in the cave, he's going back to high school for his senior year.

"Oh uh, first week of September," he replies, in a handstand position. He sighs, "It's just gonna be Heather and I this year."

"It's gonna be a weird change for all of us," Lilith says.

Wally wonders if now is a good time to tell Dick that he's planning on leaving the team. Unfortunately, that thought comes after the words leave his mouth. Dick flips back onto his feet.

"You what? Did I hear you right?"

Wally nods, "I...I want to try being normal. I'm gonna take a break from being Kid Flash. I've kinda outgrown the name now anyway. I'm eighteen."

Dick can't believe it. Wally's ditching the Titans- superhero life altogether - to be normal?

"Normal? Wally, you have superpowers, you can't just 'be normal.' None of us are normal. Not even me."

"Dick..." Donna warns. This could get ugly fast. Garth's head moves back and forth between the other two boys like he's watching tennis.

"I want to try to have some bit of normalcy. The kind I haven't had since I was a little kid. I...wouldn't expect you to understand," Wally says, not making eye contact with Dick. He's not telling them everything.

"Because I grew up in the circus? Because I'm _bisexual_? You know what's _not_ normal-"

"Dick!" Donna shouts, preventing him from saying something he'll regret, "Stop this. You two are friends. Wally, I respect your decision, even if we will miss you."

Wally nods, "I'll...see you guys around."

He turns away and walks out of the cave, hands in his pockets. Wally walking means something isn't right.

"So...what's gonna happen to the Teen Titans?" Garth asks, "I'm going to be in Atlantis full time. I'm studying ancient Atlantean...things."

"That's not at all mysterious, Garth... But the point is, we're all going to be busy," Lilith adds.

"It's Dick's call. He's the leader."

They're all expecting him to make the mature decision.

Dick returns to Gotham, just in time to catch Barbara coming off her shift at the Gotham Public Library. She's been working there part-time during the summer. He greets her with a kiss on the cheek at the bottom of the marble steps. The golden light of the setting sun makes her red hair look even more beautiful.

"Hey, Dick. You okay?"

"Not really, no," he shakes his head, "The Teen Titans are done."

"Done?"

"I dissolved the team. Everyone is going to be too busy with college and shit to do missions."

"I'm sorry, Dick," Babs says. She looks at her shoes. Something's off.

"What's up?"

"I've...been meaning to talk to you. About college. I've been putting it off but..." she sighs, "We're going to be running completely different schedules. I'm going to be busy studying, you'll be busy doing schoolwork, gymnastics and other things. I'm not going to be doing nightly patrols anymore. You know I love you, but...I think we should leave things here while it's still good."

"Is this...are you breaking up with me?" Dick is baffled, "Why? We can work things out. Heather and Jane aren't breaking up, even though Jane is going to New York."

"Dick, please. I don't want to fight with you. I just think we'd be better off as friends from now on. We've only ever dated each other. We both need a chance to explore a bit, you know?"

"So that's it then?"

"It's...for the best. I've got to get packing," she kisses him on the cheek, "I'll see you."

"Yeah. Bye Babs."

He watches her walk away. He keeps watching even after she turns the corner. Dick sits down on the steps. She has good reason and good intentions, he knows that. But it feels like he's lost another piece of his heart. Two people he loves leaving him in one day.

\---------------------

"This is just sad," Heather says as she sits down at their usual table in the cafeteria, "I miss Jane and Barbara."

It's their first day of senior year. Heather is wearing the boy's uniform, as are many other girls, after her successful campaign for uniform equality in junior year. It's gained her more popularity amongst the girls. Not that she wants it. She's very happy with the girl she's got.

Dick has also gained popularity somewhat. After several magazines featured pictures of him at various galas and balls, the girls have started taking more notice. Heather jokes that he's got fangirls. Yet, they're still sitting alone.

"Did you know that she was going to break up with me?"

Heather gives him a pitiful look, "Yeah. I did. But hey, it's not all bad. You've got your pick of the girls. Probably some of the guys too. Hell, if I was straight and single I'd probably date you."

"Thanks, but I don't know if I'm exactly in the mood for dating anyone at the moment."

"Why don't we go sit outside? Leave this table for some freshmen."

Dick nods. They gather up their things and leave the busy cafeteria. There's not many people in the hallways, save the odd lost freshman. Dick and Heather turn around a corner and see a commotion by the sports notice board. They hasten their pace to see what's going on.

A group of boys are surrounding someone and taunting him.

"Do you think becoming a cheerleader will have the boys whistling at you too? Stupid fucking faggot," one of the boys says. Freshman. Even before another kid spits in the victim's face, Dick and Heather are running over. Jane and Barbara aren't there to prevent their hot-tempered friends from taking action.

Dick grabs the first guy by the back of his navy blazer collar and roughly pulls him back from the victim. He's completely caught by surprise and stumbles backwards, before falling on his ass. Heather grabs the guy who spat and shoves him against the wall. The other boys watch with wide eyes and gaping mouths as the two seniors interrupt their 'fun.'

Dick glares at them and they take a few more steps back. They definitely know who he is. It's possible they know Heather too. Dick looks down at the boy they had been harassing. He offers him a hand up, which he reluctantly accepts.

The guy Heather has pinned to the wall is too scared to move. Dick pulls out a handkerchief (thanks, Alfred) and offers it to him so he can wipe away the spit.

Dick turns to the bullies, "I'll go easy because it's your first day. But if I ever see or hear of you guys calling someone that again, you'll get to experience first hand how hard an acrobat and a cheerleader can kick. Understand?"

They all frantically nod and then leg it.

"Y-you're Richard Grayson," the kid says in disbelief, still holding Dick's handkerchief.

"Call me Dick. And you are?"

"Ben. Why did you do that? I didn't think someone like you would care."

"Someone like me? I tried to sign up for cheer tryouts in my freshman year. Nobody stood up for me, which sucked, so I didn't want the same happening to you."

"Plus we're both gay so..." Heather adds with a shrug.

Dick raises an eyebrow at her.

"Well, I'm gay. He's bisexual. We've both been called all kinds of shit. Between us we've heard almost every slur in the book."

"I get the impression that this isn't a gay-friendly school," Ben says. Heather laughs.

"Is any?"

"Good point. Those guys are just continuing what they were doing to me in middle school. Uh, do you want this back?" Ben holds out the hankie to Dick.

"Nah, you keep it. I've got loads. I'm like an old man. If you're still interested in cheer, I recommend you go talk to Mrs. Dupain-Cheng directly. If she can't put you on the cheer team, then you can join the gymnastics team. I'm captain, so I'll put in a good word for you."

"Really? Would you?"

"Sure. Speaking of Mrs. DP...I have an idea. C'mon Heather. See ya around, Ben."

Heather follows Dick, "What idea?"

  
"A gay-straight alliance club," Dick says. They're now standing in front of Mrs. D.P, who is outside supervising during lunch.

"Woah, guys. Are you sure?"

"Heck yeah - I mean, yes ma'am," Heather says, "LGBT kids need a space where they can feel safe in school. We just stopped a bunch of guys about to beat up some poor freshman because he wanted to do cheer."

Mrs. D.P glances at Dick, remembering when he tried that, "Why are you coming to me? I think this is more of a request for the principal or a social studies teacher."

Dick and Heather look at each other, "Well," Dick says, "You're the only female member of staff I know of that's got a wife. There's a better chance of this happening with a teacher backing us up."

Mrs. D.P considers it for a moment, "Fine. But I can't guarantee anything. I don't even know how I've kept my job here for four years. Also...from what I've heard, not every GSA works out. Sometimes even more bullying happens."

"We'll defend anyone who's getting harassed over their sexuality or gender identity. Uh, non-violently, of course," Heather says, then smiles innocently. Dick nods in agreement.

The two of them find a spot under a tree to sit and finally eat their lunches, shaded from the sun. Every so often a group of freshman girls will pass by and try not to make it obvious that they're gawking at Dick. Heather tries to keep her usual gushing about Jane to a minimum for Dick's sake. Instead she asks about his other friends.

"Wally has been acting really weird. Last time I saw him we argued, but that doesn't mean I don't want to be friends. I called and apologised for that. I feel like he's hiding something from me. I've felt that for a while now. Whenever we do text or call it's usually brief."

"...Any idea what it could be?"

"No. I really miss him, Heather. I miss his stupid laugh, his stupid face and his stupid abs..."

"Sounds like you're missing more than just a friend," Heather says, raising her eyebrows.

"No! I don't like him. Not anymore. He's straight. That crush is in the past. Dead and buried."

She doesn't look very convinced, "Are you sure he's not gay? Maybe that's what he's hiding from you. He kissed you that one time. Doesn't sound very straight to me."

"Why would he try to hide it? I mean, if he is, he should just tell me. We tell each other everything."

"Dude. He's a Midwestern boy. He's probably got even more internalised homophobia than us East Coast kids."

"Heather. It took so long to get over him, please don't put that thought in my head."

She shrugs, "Whatever, Grayson. But you definitely have a ginger fetish."

Heather stands up and Dick protests her statement, "No I don't! I've only liked...three. Also, watch your pants."

She's started doing cartwheels on the grass, "Whatcha mean?"

"They'll-"

They both hear a ripping sound. Heather pauses mid-handstand and gasps, "Shit!"

"-Rip. I've lost several pairs of pants doing that."

They both erupt into a fit of laughter. The bell indicating the end of lunch rings in the distance. Heather walks around for the rest of the day with her blazer wrapped around her waist.

\------------------------

" _Wally_."

" _Dick_ ," Wally replies, still dreaming. A hand touches his shoulder and gently shakes him.

" _Wally_ ," Dick whispers again," _Wake up_."

Reluctantly, Wally cracks an eye open and sees Dick crouched by his bed. He jumps, and Dick has to cover his friend's mouth to prevent him from waking up everyone else in the dorm. With his other hand he presses his index finger to his lips.

"Dick!" Wally hisses, "How did you get in here?"

Dick rolls his eyes, "You know that's a stupid question."

"How did you figure out-"

"Asked the dude smoking weed outside what your room number is, then picked the lock. Can I ask why the weed guy knows your room number?"

"No," Wally says, sitting up.

"Interesting..."

"What are you doing here?"

"I...I don't really know," Dick admits, looking at the floor.

"You came a long way for someone who has no motive. Did you have another fight with Bruce?"

"I...yeah. So, I took his jet and came here."

"You're insane. You know that right?"

Dick laughs softly and stands up. Wally's heart jumps a little at the sound, even though he told himself that shouldn't happen anymore. The clock reads 4am. Dick settles at the end of Wally's bed and sits cross-legged, "It feels like I haven't seen you in years."

"It's been a month."

"A lot can happen in a month. A day, even. A matter of hours."

Wally has absolutely no idea where this is going, "Are you okay, man?"

"I've never been 100% okay the whole time we've known each other."

"Dick, you're kinda scaring me."

"I...I miss you. I miss the other Titans and Babs."

"Did you guys break up?" Wally asks. Dick never told him. Although, Wally didn't give him much of a chance to. He made excuses to end calls or text conversations, thinking a bit of distance would help Wally to get over him. Now Dick is physically in front of him, and he's just as handsome as ever.

"The Titans, Barbara and I...all in one day. I thought I could deal with all of it, and I did, for a month, but then I had an argument with Bruce and it just...spilled over. I don't have anyone to talk to. Not about hero stuff, anyway."

Wally thinks of Donna, but he knows she's also trying to get out of the hero game for the moment. But so is he. For some reason Dick has decided that Wally is the best friend who is getting woken up at 4am.

"Can I ask why you and Bruce were fighting?"

Dick hesitates.

"We...were on patrol. Came across a bunch of men kicking another guy and yelling homophobic slurs at him. We managed to get them to stop, by knocking out all but one, who I was pinning down." Dick pauses, bringing his knuckles up to his mouth. Even in the dark, Wally can see the tears starting to spill out of his eyes.

"They almost killed him, Wally. Just because of his sexuality. I was so angry. I just started beating the shit out of the guy I was holding down. Batman had to pull me off of him. He shouted at me for going too far and I shouted back. He has no idea what seeing that was like for me. I couldn't help thinking - what if that was Heather? Or even Roy?"

"Or you," Wally says quietly. Or me? He thinks. It's horrifying. Even though he could probably fight them off and Dick could too. Wally places his hand on his friend's shoulder, "Dick, I'm so sorry."

Dick takes a deep breath and wipes his eyes with his sleeve. "I guess..one of the reasons I came here is...the victim was from Blue Valley. He had just started collage at GCU."

"What...what was his name?" Wally asks, his voice starting to shake, "Do you know his name?"

"Darren Walters. Did you know him?"

Wally is silent for a moment.

"Oh my god," Wally says. He covers his mouth with his hand, which muffles his voice, "Oh god."

"Wally?"

Wally nods, tears in his eyes, "He...he was my first kiss."


	8. Secret Gaygent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey, a new chapter! Totally hasn't been siting practically finished for a few weeks...  
> I couldn't resist that chapter title guys. I'm tired of boring titles with a career theme that wasn't even intentional in the first place.
> 
>  
> 
> (Also if Heather were real and not in love with Jane I'd marry her.)

Wally and Dick stare at each other, both shocked. Wally is still shaking. He can't believe what he just admitted. He can't believe Darren was attacked like that. Dick stands up and says softly, "Let's get you some air."

Wally nods, grabbing a hoodie and pulling it on. Dick guides him out with a hand on his back. He somehow figures out where the stairs to the roof is, despite this being his first time in the building. Once up there, he gets Wally to take slow, deep breaths in order to calm him down somewhat. He's prioritising Wally's emotions over his own now.

"I thought Frances was your first kiss," Dick says a few minutes later. They're both now sitting against a wall. There's not much space between them. The night is chilly and the only other sounds to be heard is the occasional car driving past on the road below. 

"I led you to believe that. I'm sorry. I should have told you the truth. I should have told you way before now. You of all people would have understood. But I just...couldn't get it out, you know? Those two words."

Wally stares off into the distance, across the campus and the lights of city beyond. It's almost five o'clock, meaning a few people would be waking up soon for early morning shifts. Everyone else is asleep. Wally knows that no one is going to hear this conversation but Dick. That thought should relax him, but his heart is still racing.

"It's okay, Wally. I mean, it hurts, but I know how hard it is," Dick says, "Two words. I still find it difficult to say. But...every time it gets a little easier."

Wally nods. He's never talked to anyone about Darren beside Iris, but Dick deserves the truth. So he explains. Once he starts its hard to stop.

"Darren was my best friend back in Blue Valley. I guess I had liked him for a while without really realising it. When we were thirteen, Darren and I were in an empty classroom together, working on a science project. I can't remember exactly what happened, but we ended up kissing. A teacher walked in. The principal was told. Our parents were called. That was the night I got kicked out. Lucky for me, Iris happened to be in town. You know the rest."

Dick nods. He's quiet for a moment, then asks, "Did you talk to Darren after it?"

Wally shakes his head and blinks back tears, "No. I hated him because I thought it was his fault my dad kicked me out. I shouldn't have blamed him. It was my fault for being-"

"No. It was your dad's fault for being a homophobic asshole. God, I'm so, so sorry Wally. I don't really know what to say."

Wally rests his head on Dick's shoulder and quietly cries. The action makes his heart flutter, and suddenly he's back to being fifteen and in love with his best friend. Dick is nervous as he takes Wally's hand and squeezes it, but it feels right. Wally doesn't take his hand away.

\-------------------------

Wally wakes up again at 12:30pm. He can't remember what time exactly they left the roof, but the sky had started getting brighter. It's weird for him to sleep in. It's a good thing Wally hasn't got any classes today.

Last night doesn't seem real. He turns his head and sees Dick on the floor, in a sleeping bag. However, he doesn't let the bag restrict him from sprawling out on his stomach. Dick knows now. Wally never said the two words exactly, but he knows.

It feels like a weight has been lifted off of his shoulders. However, a new one has been added, concerning Darren. He needs to see him and apologise.

Wally knows that Dick is upset over it too. He witnessed the attack.

Dick turns over and his face scrunches up adorably. He opens his eyes and quickly closes them again, groaning.

"I hate mornings," Dick says, in that perfect 'just woke up' voice. His dark hair is sticking up in all directions, but it still looks good. It's actually annoying how good he looks, even though he just slept on the floor. Maybe Wally is just looking through rose tinted glasses.

"I know you do. But I wouldn't exactly call it morning. It's 12:31."

Dick rubs his eyes and sits up, "Oh. You're probably starving. We should get food."

"There's a nice place for brunch that I know, not far from campus."

"Right. I forgot where I was for a moment," Dick says, unzipping the end of the sleeping bag. He's still wearing the clothes he was in last night, minus his hoodie, shoes and socks.

"Have you got much stuff with you?" Wally asks, looking at the duffle bag Dick had shown up with.

"Yeah, I have a runaway bag packed for whenever I need it."

"I honestly don't know if you're joking or not."

"I'm joking. Although that isn't a bad idea. I packed quickly, so I probably forgot a few small things. I'll survive," Dick says. He looks around the room. The daylight has revealed how messy it actually is. There's empty cups of pot noodles dotted around the place and clothes everywhere.

Following his gaze, Wally says, "You know I usually clean up everything at super speed when I'm expecting people to be in here, but you didn't really give me a chance."

"No wonder your room at Iris's was so neat. I'm seeing your true nature now," Dick laughs, "Honestly, if I didn't have Alfred my room would look the same. Maybe worse."

There's a poster of the planets stuck to the wall, along with a few pictures. Dick spots himself in a lot of them. Wally brought the Stephen Hawking poster with him, but not the glow in the dark stars. They're likely still stuck to the ceiling in his old room.

A few minutes later, after the awkward ordeal of figuring out the changing situation, they're on their way to the place Wally mentioned. It's almost October, but it's sunny. The leaves have started changing colour, the odd few twirling to the ground.

"I guess I'm part of the college crowd today, huh?" Dick says, looking at the students as they're passing them. There's an aura of cool about the place, with a lot of diversity. It's so far from the posh and upper class Gotham Academy. Dick likes it.

"You've got so many friends in college, I think you're already part of the college crowd."

They sit down for brunch in a booth by the window with a massive spread in front of them. Toast, hash browns, eggs, bacon, coffee...the list goes on. The place is decorated like a 50s diner, with checked tiles on the floor and neon signs. They both dump obscene amounts of sugar into their coffees.

"So, what about the good stuff in your life? No negatives, just the positives," Wally says, "I can't handle any more sad shit right now."

"Well...Heather and I founded GA's first gay-straight alliance club."

"Really? That's pretty cool."

"We've only got a few members right now, but it's nice to feel like I'm making a difference outside of my...night life. What about you?"

"I haven't done anything as impactful as that. But physics classes are really interesting. I won't bore you with all the details of what we've done, but I love it. They've actually invited my Grandpa to speak to us tomorrow. He's arriving some time today and staying in a hotel. Not exactly sure when. He gave me three different times. Grandpa's like that."

"Your super cool, Nobel-Prize-winning Grandpa Ira?"

"Yep. He's also cool with me being...you know..." Wally says, then takes a bite of toast. His green eyes flit to the side. Dick frowns.

"I'm glad to hear that. But...are you okay with it, Wally?"

"I'm...trying? When I said I wanted to try being normal, a part of me meant that I wanted to be straight. But I know that's not going to happen. I need to accept that. I wish I could be like you and like both. Might be easier."

Dick laughs, "The bullies and homophobes don't discriminate. And there's biphobia on top of that. I've heard that a lot of people won't date bisexuals because they worry about disloyalty and STIs. Bullshit, really."

There's also the nagging in the back of his brain telling him that he's just faking it for attention, that bisexuality isn't a real thing and that he needs to just pick a side. It's the result of other people telling him things like that. He wishes he could tell that corner of his mind (and those people) to fuck off and stop trying to confuse him.

"I would. Date a bisexual, I mean," Wally says. They both blush and look down at their plates. The two of them continue eating for a few minutes without saying much, other than commenting on people passing by the window.

"Okay so, I like guys, you like guys. That's been established. Tell me if I'm reading this wrong, but I think we both like each other," Dick says.

"That...sounds right, yeah."

"So...that should qualify us to be more than friends."

"I guess it does?"

"Yeah. So..."

"So..?"

They both stare at each other and then start chuckling awkwardly, "We're terrible," Dick says.

"Are you asking me if we should...date?" Wally asks quietly, acutely aware that there is other students around. He hopes his face isn't as red as it feels.

"I guess I am. Do you want to?"

"I...I do. But...I don't think I'm ready. I'm not completely comfortable with myself yet. This might sound strange coming from me, but I don't want to rush things."

Dick masks his disappointment well. He nods, "Yeah, of course."

They both stare at their empty plates, avoiding eye contact with each other. Wally's phone starts ringing. He excuses himself and answers it, "Oh, hi Grandpa. You're here? Already? No, you didn't say you were coming at one-thirty. The earliest time you gave me was two-thirty. Yes, I'm sure. It's okay. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Wally hangs up and sighs, "We've gotta go."

"I take it I'm meeting Grandpa Ira?" Dick says, starting to tidy up the table. They'd already finished eating anyway. Wally nods, doing the same, "Cool. Although, I was kinda hoping we'd have some more time to ourselves..."

"Maybe later? Grandpa is in the physics department already. I can show both you guys around."

When they arrive at the physics department, they head into an empty lecture hall. Inside, Wally is greeted by a friendly-looking old man wearing a bow tie. He gives Wally a big hug. It makes Dick wish he knew his grandparents. After a minute of chatter between the two of them, Ira finally realises Dick is there.

"Oh! And who might this be?"

"Grandpa, this is Dick Grayson," Wally introduces. Ira shakes Dick's hand firmly.

"Ah, yes. It's nice to finally meet my grandson's boyfriend. Or should I say partner? Is that the correct term? I'm not very up to date on the lingo."

Dick and Wally's jaws drop and their faces flush pink, "Grandpa I think you're getting the wrong idea -" Wally starts.

"Well this is the boy you talk about all the time, isn't it? Or am I confusing him with someone else?"

Dick raises an eyebrow at Wally, who is looking rather flustered.

"What school do you go to, Dick?"

Dick is surprised at Ira's laid back reaction to the whole thing, even though Wally told him that Ira was okay with his sexuality.

"Gotham Academy," he replies. Ira nods thoughtfully.

"You've got a long way back for school tomorrow."

"Indeed he has."

Dick tenses up. Even before he turns his head towards the door, he know who the stoic English accent belongs to. Alfred is standing there in his Autumn coat, looking rather unamused. Wally leans in closer to Dick and whispers, "Pretty glad I'm not you right now."

"Thanks," Dick whispers back, "Hi, Alfred."

"Master Richard, this is getting rather old," Alfred says, walking towards him. He nods at Wally, "Wallace."

"Alfred Pennyworth?" Ira asks. The corners of Alfred's mouth turn up a little. It's a rare sight.

"Professor West, it's been a while."

"Yes, it has. You're not still in the Secret Service, are you?"

"No, no. But nowhere near retired. I've been the Wayne's butler for the last thirty odd years. You'd be surprised what I have to deal with on the day to day."

Dick and Wally look at each other with puzzlement. What are the chances? At least Alfred seems to be in a better mood than he was when he walked in. Dick tugs Wally's sleeve.

"I'll go get my bag, Alfred," Dick says, pulling Wally along with him "You guys catch up."

Alfred raises an eyebrow at them as they leave and says to Ira, "I don't believe I have to ask what's going on."

"Teenagers," Ira says with a chuckle.

Dick and Wally run across the campus, no super speed, pushing each other playfully and laughing like they were kids again. They both missed this a lot. Ever since that kiss at the old amusement mile, touching had become less common and more careful.

"How the hell do they know each other? And what was that about the secret service?" Wally asks, not one bit out of breath.

"Alfred was agent for _Her Majesty's Secret Service,_ " Dick says, putting on a fake English accent, "That's all I know. I don't think Bruce knows much about it either. He won't tell us anything more."

"Your butler could be James Bond? That's so cool. How have you not mentioned this before?" Wally asks as they turn around a corner, slowing down.

"Well I can't elaborate on it, so what's the point?"

They get back to the dorms and Dick grabs his bag, "I don't want to go."

"I don't want you to go. But we've both got classes tomorrow," Wally says. Dick drops his bag again and wraps his arms around Wally. He hugs him back.

"You're so warm," Dick says, burying his face in Wally's shoulder. Wally likes it a lot. He chuckles.

"Your hair smells really nice. Does that sound weird?"

"I asked Barbara what shampoo she uses."

"Ah," Wally says, then pulls back. He's pretty sure that was the longest they've even hugged. Wally shouldn't be getting flustered about it like a thirteen year old. Yet his heart thumps in his chest.

Dick picks up his bag again and they leave the room. Wally asks, "Are you guys cool?"

"Babs and I? Yeah. I mean, I don't see her as often as I used to. I suppose it would have been worse if I still saw her every day."

They get back to Ira and Alfred, who have more or less updated each other on the last few decades.

"These two give us an excuse to meet up," Ira said, "Till next time, Alfie."

Alfred nods, "It was nice seeing you again. Come on, Master Richard. We best get going."

Dick follows Alfred out the door, then runs back. He quickly kisses Wally on the cheek before leaving again, shouting, "Bye!" Wally wonders how much blushing in the space of twenty-four hours is considered healthy.

Grandpa Ira nudges him, "I think you've got an admirer, son." Wally tries to cover his face with his hands. Ira laughs, "You're as red as your uncle's super tights."

Alfred raises an eyebrow at Dick when he comes back out, "I believe you would think it embarrassing if I asked."

Dick just puts up the hood of his hoodie and avoids eye contact with his butler.

\----------------------------

  
It's Monday. Dick is back in Gotham and Wally attends the lecture his Grandpa gives. As interested as Wally is, he can't concentrate with the other stuff going on in his mind. How badly hurt is Darren? Dick says he was almost killed. Is he critical? What if...

Wally shakes away that thought and takes a deep breath. The guy sitting beside him gives him an odd look.

It's not fair. Darren had just started college, like Wally. He was just living his life. Now he's going to fall behind while he recovers. Some sickos thought that they could do what they liked to him because of his sexuality.

Wally wonders if his dad ever beat up a guy - other than his own son - for being gay. That thought worsens the sick feeling in his stomach. Violent scenes from Brokeback Mountain emerge from his memory. He hasn't watched it in years, but they've stuck with him.

"Hey, are you okay man? You look like you're gonna puke," the guy next to him - Josh or something - whispers, poking him with his pen. It snaps Wally out of his dark thoughts.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

 _Don't think about shit like that,_ Wally tells himself, _think about good things, like the fact that Dick hugged you yesterday. He kissed you on the cheek!_

Wally can feel his cheeks prickle. He hopes his Grandpa isn't looking at him. He also hopes that he can get a repeat of this lecture when they go for lunch.

He wonders how Dick is doing, halfway across the country.

\-------------

Dick practically floats down the stairs for breakfast, despite the fact he had been lying awake for hours last night, mind racing. He can't peel the smile off his face. He sits at one end of the long table and shoves some toast in his mouth, then pours himself some coffee.

"What's got you looking so chipper?"

Dick's head jerks up. He nearly spills coffee on his school uniform. The last thing he expected to see this morning was Bruce in his silk red and gold dressing gown. They never have breakfast together on weekdays.

"You know you're grounded, right? I'm sure Alfred made that clear to you."

Dick takes the toast out of his mouth and goes back to pouring his coffee, "I know."

"Then why do you look so unfazed?"

"Well, Bruce, if you really want to know, I kissed a boy yesterday. It was worth it."

Bruce goes quiet, not knowing how to reply to that. Dick continues eating his breakfast. The slice of toast is completely gone when Bruce finally speaks.

"I'm...sorry about Saturday night. I should have been more sensitive considering the nature of the incident."

Dick pauses. He takes a deep, shaky breath. He doesn't look at Bruce, but he nods.

\-------------------

Heather invites Dick over after school to update her on his 'big news', because they didn't get the chance to talk much in school that day (and Dick didn't want anyone eavesdropping).

Heather lives in a terraced Georgian house in the old part of the city. Despite them being friends for a few years, he's never been actually over to her house before.

They walk up the stone steps and she unlocks the door. Once they're in the hallway Heather dumps her bag on the floor, "I dunno if my dad is home yet."

"I'm in the kitchen!"

"I guess he's home."

She leads him towards the kitchen. Dick admires all of the photos hung on the walls in passing. Most of them are of her and her dad. Her mom appears in a few.

"Hey, Daddy. I invited Dick over, that okay?"

Heather's dad looks up from the large bowl his hands are stuck in and looks at Dick. There's flour on the kitchen counter, so he must be baking something. Dick gives a little wave, "Nice to meet you Mr Johnson."

He laughs, "I thought she was lying about being friends you. Just call me Aaron."

"Lying? He's the only person I hang out with at school these days."

"Yeah I know, I was worried."

"What are you making?" Heather asks, peering into the bowl.

"Apple crumble. How does it look?"

"I don't know what it's supposed to look like."

The two of them go upstairs to Heather's room. She ducks behind the door to get changed and gets Dick to tell her what had happened that weekend. He leaves out any vigilante related details, of course.

While talking he glances around her room. There's colourful socks everywhere. She made little effort to clean up, which Dick is fine with. The lesbian pride flag she had mentioned her dad getting her in June is tacked to the wall. Posters of female celebrities are also stuck up. Beyoncé, Pink, Shakira. Good choices.

"You flew all the way to Central City to see him and he turned you down? Damn."

"I'm not upset about it. He didn't want to rush things. Well, maybe I'm a little upset. But he is interested. Just not right now."

"Is he waiting until you're in college too or...?"

"What? No. I don't think so, anyway. He's just got a lot of internal homophobia to work out, you know?"

Is Wally reluctant to date him because he's still in high school? It's never really been a problem before. Friendship-wise. Wally said yesterday that he considers him part of the college crowd. He decides he doesn't want to think about it.

"I was right about him being gay. My gaydar is spot on," Heather says, stepping out from behind the door in her Gotham Knights jersey and leggings. She slides her feet into a pair of slippers, "What do you think of my room?"

"Very cool. I like your cacti."

There's cacti sitting in colourful pots along the window sill. They have googly eyes stuck onto them and names painted onto the pots. Bob, Cher, Ellen, Fernando, and Frank. One looks to be deceased, but hasn't been removed. It's called Dave.

"Dave is just hibernating," Heather explains, staring at the dead cactus, "I have faith in him."

"I don't think that's how cacti work," Dick looks back at the wall above her bed, "The lesbian flag is very pretty."

"Isn't it? The bisexual flag is nice too. You should get one. For Halloween we can dress up as superheroes and use the flags as capes."

Dick laughs, "Seriously?"

"Dead serious. Bi Boy and Sappho Girl. The new dynamic duo. Batman and Robin who?" she flops down onto the bed, next to Dick.

Dick laughs, "Great, but I will one hundred percent get beaten up."

"As if the straights will even recognise anything other than the rainbow flag. But if you don't want to be original you could always dress up as like, Robin."

"Nah, I don't think that's a good idea," he says, pulling at his tie. It's been getting looser and looser since leaving school.

"Why not? I mean unoriginal, yeah, but you look the part. Dark hair, same build, does a lot of flips..." Dick doesn't like this, "Plus he's a gay icon."

"Wait, what?"

"Um, yeah. No straight guy would be caught dead in the green undies and pixie boots. Have you ever been on the Internet?"

"Not whatever corner of it you hang out in."

Dick's phone starts ringing in his pocket. It's the latest model, of course. Several people have expressed their jealousy over his iPhone. He pulls it out and looks at the caller ID.

"It's him."

"Robin?"

"What? No. It's Wally."

Heather props herself up to see, "Aw your picture of him is cute. Now answer it and put it on loudspeaker."

"Not happening," Dick says. He swipes the screen and puts it up to his ear, "Hey, Walls."

Heather puts her chin on Dick's shoulder in an attempt to listen in. He tries to push her away but she's persistent.

"Hi. You're out of school right?"

"Yeah. I'm at Heather's house."

"Oh. Is this a bad time?"

"No, it's totally fine. Heather is eavesdropping, just so you know," Dick tells him. Hint hint don't mention super-stuff.

"Do you know anything more about Darren? I want to go visit him if I can. Maybe you could come with me?"

"Of course I will. I heard he's in Gotham Memorial, but I reckon they're only letting family visit at the moment."

"Yeah, I figured. Should I get him a _get well soon card_ or an _I'm sorry I haven't spoken to you in five years_ card?"

"Get well soon card, but write the other one on the inside."

"You're brilliant."

"I know. Um, you're okay with that goodbye I gave you yesterday, right? It wasn't too forward, was it?"

"No! No, it was nice. My grandpa teased me a little, though. I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing with Heather."

"I'll update you on Darren if I can."

"Bye."

"Bye."

"Bye."

"Byeee."

"Byeeeeeeee."

The call ends and Heather sighs, "Ugh you dorks. You meant kissing him goodbye didn't you?"

"Yeah. But I don't know if he wants you to know the details."

She nods, "Yeah. Jane gets like that if she's near her parents when I call. It happens less often now that she's in New York."

While Aaron is super supportive of Heather (in June he wears his 'I heart my lesbian daughter' t-shirt a lot), Jane's parents think that Heather is just her gal pal. Heather's mom knows about her sexuality, but hasn't brought it up since she came out. It's crazy how different people's reactions are.

"Do you miss her?"

"She's my girlfriend, what kinda question is that? Of course I do," Heather points at the framed picture of Jane on her bedside table.

"Y'know, add a few candles and you've got yourself a shrine."

She playfully shoves him, "Shut up."

They spend the ready of their time doing stupid shit like dancing to Gangnam style, taking selfies while making ugly faces and singing to karaoke videos on YouTube. Dick figures most guys would be embarrassed about doing 'girly stuff' but at this point he doesn't really give a shit.

"You sing 'Beautiful Soul' almost as good as Jesse McCartney," Heather comments, "You've gotta enter this year's talent show."

"No way. Not happening."

"I'll go up there and like, croak next to you."

Dick looks at the time on his phone, "Shit. I've gotta get home before Bruce. I'm supposed to be grounded."

Heather laughs, "I can't believe you, Grayson. You knew you were grounded and still came over?"

"I told Alfred I was doing an after school study thing in the library and that I'd get a taxi home."

"A taxi? By yourself? Is that safe?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Never mind. You're a guy. You'll be fine."

Dick doesn't really know how to respond to that, "I'll see you at school tomorrow. Thanks for having me over."

"Sure, we'll make it a regular thing - when you're not grounded anymore."


	9. Hospitals smell weird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why are ambulances not free in the US?? What the fuck, that is not okay.
> 
> As you can see, I have given up completely on chapter titles, but I like it. I've had this written for over a month whoops.

"Hello, Ma'am. We're here to see Darren Walsh," Wally says over the counter to the receptionist in Gotham General. Her ID badge reads Louise. She looks up tiredly at him, "It's family o-"

She sees Dick standing behind Wally and stops in her tracks, "You're-"

"A good friend of his," Dick says, "Could we please see him?"

Louise nods, "Of course." She passes a clipboard and a pen over the desk, "Just sign in here. I'll get the room number for you."

Louise turns to her computer and searches it. Dick and Wally take turns signing their name and writing the date and time. Louise tells them the floor and room number. They thank her and go towards the lifts.

"Is there anywhere you can't get into with just your face?" Wally says.

"Clubs. No point in getting a fake ID when everyone knows you," Dick says as the doors of the lift slide shut. Wally presses the button.

"You wouldn't pass for twenty one anyway."

Dick shoves him a little, "Shut up."

They make it up to the third floor and as they make their way through the corridors Wally quickly works himself up, "What if he doesn't want to see me?"

He turns the envelope he's holding over and over nervously. Dick has power walk in order to keep up with him, and looks pretty stupid doing it. Wally almost collides with a nurse.

"Slow down Walls. It'll be fine. I'm sure he'll appreciate you coming all the way from Keystone to see him."

"Sorry," they slow to a halt outside the hospital room, "Should I go in first? Should we go in together?"

"Well...I think you should go in first. I'll be right outside the door, okay? Just call me in."

Wally nods and takes a deep breath. He walks in. Darren is lying in the bed reading a physics textbook. Wally has the same one. Darren looks up and his brown eyes widen. His left eye is surrounded by black and blue and there's a cut on his forehead. He puts his book down.

"Holy shit. Wally West, is that you? Or is the medication making me see things?"

"It's really me. Hi."

"Did...did you come all this way-"

"To see you, yeah. I heard about what happened."

Darren nods, "If Batman and Robin hadn't saved my ass I'd probably be pushing up daisies by now," he gestures to the chair beside the bed, "Sit down."

Wally sits.

"You look good," Darren says.

"You...well you look like shit, man."

Darren laughs, then winces, "Ow, my ribs."

"I just don't understand how someone could do something like that."

"Well it's Gotham. Shit like this happens a lot here, so I'm told. And I'm gay."

They're both silent for a few moments.

"So am I."

"I figured."

"My...my dad kicked me out that night."

"I figured that too. You moved in with your aunt right? The one you spent your summers with."

"Iris, yeah. She's been really supportive. So has her husband, Barry."

"I'm glad. I'm sorry about your dad though."

"I'm sorry I didn't keep in touch. I blamed you for what happened with my dad. That wasn't right."

"It's alright. I see where you were coming from. Besides, it's not like I kept in touch either. You're here now. I appreciate it," Darren smiles. Wally returns it.

"I uh, brought a friend with me. Will I tell him to come in?"

"Sure. Is that for me?

Wally glances down at the card, "Oh! Yes. I forgot," he hands it to him, then gets up to fetch Dick.

Daren opens the envelope and reads the get well soon card inside. Wally had written another apology inside it.

"Darren, this is-"

"Richard Grayson!? What the fuck?"

"Uh, yeah," Dick says, "Hi. I'm really sorry about what happened."

Darren nods, mouth agape. Wally laughs, "I forget that you're famous until I'm in Gotham," he says, nudging Dick.

"How the hell do you know each other?"

"Oh uh, my uncle knows Bruce Wayne. We've known each other since..."

"You were twelve, I was eleven," Dick finishes.

"Somehow you failed to ever mention you were friends with _Richard Grayson."_

"Just call me Dick."

Darren nods, then eyes them curiously.

"Wait a sec - are you guys dating?"

Dick and Wally glance at each other and quickly look away again, obviously flustered. They both say no.

"Well obviously there's something going on. It's pretty clear you guys like each other."

Dick coughs, "Um, anyway. The Wayne Foundation has offered to cover your medical bills."

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

"Holy shit. I - Thank you so much. I mean, the ambulance bill alone....I thought I was going to have to escape the hospital or quit college or -"

"It's no problem."

"If hug you if my ribs weren't so sore."

"It's alright. I don't know if you already know this, but the police are pretty sure they've got the guys that did it."

"Yeah, I was told. How did you find out?"

"Commissioner's daughter is his ex," Wally explains.

"And friend," Dick adds. He actually asked Jim Gordon himself on the rooftop of the GCPD while in costume. But shh.

"You're straight?" Darren asks, unconvinced.

"No. Bisexual. But you know, keep it on the down low. Don't really need the tabloids getting wind of it."

Wally gives him a look, "Dude, you and Heather founded Gotham Academy's first GSA. You're co-president."

Darren laughs, "My lips are sealed."

The three boys talk until a nurse comes in and informs them that visiting hours are over. Time had flown by, even for Wally. They say their goodbyes and Wally promises to keep in touch.

"You'll have more of a reason to come to Gotham now," Dick says gleefully as they leave the hospital.

"You're reason enough. Darren is an extra reason."

"Aw, you sap."

"I'm the sap?"

The two of them go back to Wayne Manor. It's been a while since Wally has been there. They almost make it to Dick's room before they run into Bruce.

"Wally," he says with a nod, "Where are you two off to?"

"My room. Where else?"

"No you're not."

"What?"

"Off limits."

"Wait, because - that's not fair! If you use that logic I can't take anyone into my room. Wally and I aren't even.."

"I'm joking," Bruce says, with the exact same expression as before, "But the door stays open."

Dick groans, "Fine."

"Patrol starts at the usual time. Be ready or I'll leave without you," Bruce says, then continues walking down the hallway. They don't say anything until they reach Dick's bedroom.

Wally coughs. He's bright red, "Well, that was awkward."

"As soon as I graduate high school I'm going back to the circus," Dick says, flopping down on his bed, "I'll buy my own trailer and I can have whoever I want in it."

"Sometimes I forget you're not technically an adult yet. Then you say something like that," Wally says, flopping down next to him.

"Keep reminding me of that fact and you won't be allowed in my trailer."

"Are you just going to skip college?"

"Mmm...guess not. Maybe I'll do law or something."

"Yawn."

"Did you just _say_ yawn," Dick says, then yawns, "Damnit. Why is yawning contagious?"

Wally also yawns and says, "I dunno, Google it. Have you looked at any universities yet?"

"I don't know. Blüdhaven maybe?"

"Blüdhaven? Isn't that even more of a dump than Gotham? Only they've dressed it up with flashy lights like some sort of Vegas East?"

"True, but I'd like to see the guy who tries to mug me. Look, I don't really want to talk about college right now. It's all anyone ever talks about these days."

"Well, what do you want to talk about?"

Dick is quiet for a moment or two. Wally turns his head and looks at his thoughtful face.

"When did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That you're gay."

Wally is a little taken aback by the question. He thinks for a second, then says, "I don't think I can really pin point it."

Dick hums, "I was always different. I knew I wasn't like the other boys I knew from the circus, but I couldn't put my finger on it, y'know? One night, when I was sleeping over at your house I turned my head to look at you -" he does just that, "- and I thought, _wow_."

Dick is looking right at him with those pretty eyes of his and Wally's chest tightens. "Why are you so good at making me blush, man?"

"I dunno, but I like having that skill," Dick says with a grin, "So uh...what do you wanna do?"

"Uh...we could watch a movie?"

It seems as if the elephant in the room will go unaddressed for now, "Yeah, sure. You you wanna go down to the cinema room or..?"

They end up sticking a DVD into Dick's laptop and setting it up on the bed. The Shawshank Redemption. They've both seen it before. When Dick doesn't show for patrol, Bruce goes up to check on them. Dick and Wally are both asleep, leaning against each other's sides as Morgan Freeman narrates the last few minutes of the film. He doesn't wake them.


End file.
